From Strength to Strength

In October Robin announced that, due to a change in his personal circumstances, he was having to relinquish some, or possibly all, of his responsibilities in running YABeeP. Having organised the group more or less single handedly since its creation in 2009 it was time for a change; was there to be a future for this group or was it time to call it a day?

In the event several members equally passionate about natural beekeeping came forward and talks have been going behind the scenes to take things forward. A steering group has been established and following a couple of meetings Sal, the new Chair, today announced to the membership the shape of things to come. Her message follows:

Message from the new Chair:

Hailing all Natural Beekeepers of YABeeP     

Yohoho. Firstly, a reminder of the Christmas gathering at Robin & Sarah’s on Saturday, Dec 8th at 10.30a.m. onwards.  See you there, tinsel, tasty bits an’all.

Also some reassurance that YABeeP will continue with few changes, apart from the “Chair” & venue for the meetings.

As the new Chair, I would like to introduce myself to you all:  Sal Pearson from Claverham.  I am new to beekeeping/hosting but rest assured that Robin remains in the group & we also have  James who has oodles of years’ experience of beekeeping.

I may be fresh to this beekeeping malarkey but have rapidly become totally immersed with the bees in my garden (in truth, probably a bit of a bee-bore, but hey, can’t bee helped!!) & as a consequence have become aware of much wider & more pressing issues surrounding this delightful occupation: environment change, weather, pesticides & politics to name but a few. Perhaps they are issues for the group….time will tell. If you want to know about neonicotinoids  however (& how to spell it!!) I’m your gal.

The venue: in 2013 the group will meet in Claverham village hall (map) in the conservatory, every second Saturday of the month, beginning February 9th 10.30a.m. The conservatory is next to the bar, which won’t be open till later (sorry folks) but will hopefully be warm & comfortable. Tea, coffee & biscuits will be available. There will be a meeting door fee of £2.00 per person (excepting children) to cover costs such as room hire & refreshments. This means we can drop the annual £5.00 donation request.

YABeeP  will be supported by a steering group of Viv, Mark & Sue, James, Robin & myself all doing a variety of tasks to keep us all going…..thanks to all.  If you have any enquiries about any of this contact me and I will try to answer as best I can.

Coming up:  there will be a couple of days hive-building. Places are limited to 6 per session due to space, so let me know if you are interested as it will be a case of 1st come, 1st served.

There will also be a day of skep-building to be confirmed.

I look forward to seeing you all on Feb 9th 2013 at 10.30 a.m in Claverham village hall. The full list of dates for 2013 have been agreed & are published on our website (link) ….get them in your diary!

See you there.

Sal