Conwy Beekeepers – Gwenynwyr Conwy

Happy New Year to you and your bees.

Saturday 4th January—Apiary Meeting

Tal y Cafn at 1.30pm.
We’ll check the colonies and treat with oxalic acid, to knock down any varroa mites. Bee suits available, please bring wellies. Mince pies for the beekeepers! Please let me know if you can provide some mince pies. Contact Chris Clarke on 01745 832812 for supplies of oxalic acid and Apifonda winter feed, by mid week please. Collect at TyC.

Subscriptions

You can renew your subs at the apiary meeting. It’s so easy! Click here to download the Word form (or PDF). Type in your details, print the form and bring it with your cheque.

Thorne’s Online Sale

Starts on 4th January.

Beekeeping in 2014

Are you already planning your beekeeping for 2014, or will you just react to whatever your bees decide to do, and hope to get a few jars of honey?

You can become a well-informed and confident beekeeper by attending our talks, attending our practical sessions with the bees and our honey shows, by preparing for the WBKA Basic Assessment and by volunteering at the Beekeeping Centre. There’s so much to learn.

Why would anyone prefer to be a stay at home beekeeper?

Storm on Bardsey Island

Click here to see a short video of Friday’s 109 mph storm on Bardsey Island, filmed by Conwy BKA members Steve and Ben Porter. The Porter family are spending their 7th New Year on Ynys Enlli.

Best wishes
Peter McFadden

The 2014 Membership Subscription Form is now available as a Windows ® Word document or a PDF file under Association / Membership. The Membership form should be completed by all new and renewing members. Membership will be deemed to have lapsed if membership subscription is not received by the end of February.

You can type information straight onto the Windows® Word document before printing, or print the PDF and fill it in clealry by hand. The completed form together with your cheque should be sent to the membership secretary

Full terms and conditions for Bee Diseases Insurance (BDI) are available at www.beediseasesinsurance.co.uk
Details of public liability insurance are available at www.wbka.com

Tuesday 26th November—Making Increase

Craig y Don Community Centre
A talk by Wally Shaw OBE and Jenny Shaw, Anglesey BKA. Tea, coffee, cake and informal chat from 7.20pm. Talk starts at 7.40pm.

I’ve got my hive through the winter and it’s full of bees. I know they’ll want to swarm soon. How do I split the colony in two without wrecking it? Wally Shaw will explain the theory, and Jenny Shaw will guide us through a straightforward method with pictures.

This is a talk not to miss. You’re a keen beekeeper, why would you not want to be there?

Tuesday 29th October—Association Honey Show

Craig y Don Community Centre Staging from 6.45pm to 7.15pm.

Our best meeting of the year! Your chance to be a honey judge for the evening.

Last year we changed the format of the Honey Show, and we all judged the classes against a list of criteria. This turned out to be a very enjoyable and successful event. The winning entry in the clear honey was also the winner at the Royal Welsh Show.

Do support your Honey Show, and please save some honey for next year’s Eglwysbach Show.

Click here to see our information on How to win prizes at the Honey Show.

• honey show entry form 2013 – DOC
• honey show entry form 2013 – PDF
• honey show schedule 2013 – DOC
• honey show schedule 2013 – PDF
• honey show 2013 criteria – DOC
• honey show 2013 criteria – PDF

Best wishes and good luck.

Here are pictures of the 2012 show taken by Barry Griffiths.

Sat/Sun 19th and 20th October—Apple Weekend Celebration

Bodelwyddan Castle 11am to 4.30pm

• A celebration of the amazing apple, marking the redevelopment of the Victorian Orchard at Bodelwyddan Castle.
• Display of over 100 apple varieties.
• Bring along your fruit for identification. Bring your diseased fruit for advice from fruit guru Ian Sturrock http://www.iansturrockandsons.co.uk/
• Tree planting, beekeeping information stall, juice and food tasting, crafts, games and quizzes, talks and demos.

Admission: Adults £6.95, concessions £5.85, children £3.

Sat/Sun 26th and 27th October—Conwy Feast

Conwy town centre
Here’s an amazing picture of Conwy during the 2012 Feast.

Tuesday 29th October—Conwy BKA Annual Honey Show

Craig y Don Community Centre
Schedules to be announced

Tuesday 24th September—Maximizing your honey crop

Craig y Don Community Centre
Are you disappointed with just a half-full super of honey from a hive? Scared to work out the cost of producing a jar of honey? Come along to this talk by Joanna Schup from Shropshire BKA.
Welcome tea, coffee and chat from 7.20pm. Meeting starts at 7.40pm.

Many thanks to all who supported Friday’s Conwy Honey Fair. We had about 70 stalls, including nearly 30 honey sellers, from as far as Lampeter. We were pleased that a lot of new beekeepers were there, selling honey for the first time.

We collected an amazing £700 from stallholders and visitors towards Bees for Development.

Below are pictures from this year’s Conwy Honey Fair taken by Barry Griffiths.

Click on an image to see a larger version.

Honey from Prestatyn

Royal Welsh prize winning honey

Plenty of honey for sale

Wednesday 4th September—History of beekeeping

Eagles Hotel, Llanrwst LL26 0LG at 7pm.
History of beekeeping in the Conwy Valley a talk by Kevin Jones, Maenan, Conwy BKA member. There is lots of fresh information, and previously unseen old photos of the Conwy Honey Fair. This is a Llanrwst Historical Society meeting, visitors welcome @ £2 per person.

Saturday 7th September—Apiary Meeting

Your last Apiary meeting of the summer at Tal y Cafn at 2.30pm. Check for winter and treating the bees with Apiguard.

Friday 13th September—Conwy Honey Fair

9am to 4pm. Good quality pics wanted for publicizing next year’s event, our 25th year!

Tuesday 24th September—Maximizing your honey crop

A talk by Joanna Schup, Shropshire BKA at Craig y Don Community Centre. Welcome and tea/coffee at 7.20pm, meeting starts at 7.40pm

New members

Conwy BKA now has a record 160 members (with a family counting as one member). Welcome to all our new members! If you are a new member, and you would like to know who else keeps bees near you please contact us. Think about volunteering to help with the bees at the BeeCentre at Bodnant Welsh Food. It’s a great way to meet other beekeepers and to learn about beekeeping.
See www.beeswales.co.uk and www.bodnant-welshfood.co.uk/

Sun 7th July—Garden Open

Penysychnant, Sychnant Pass, Conwy
11am to 5pm Click here for info.

Sun 14th July—Moelyci Open Day

Moelyci Environmental Centre, Tregarth
From midday. Click here for info.

Sat 20t July—Apiary Meeting

Tal y Cafn
14:30

Warmer weather is forecast for July. Be in time with your supers.

Happy beekeeping.
Peter McFadden