2021-10-31-accounts

The Lancashire and North West Beekeepers Association Handbook and annual reports 2020-21

Affiliated to the British Beekeepers Association (Founded 1882. Reconstructed separately 1899)

Registered Charity No 506167

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CONTENTS

Officers of the Association

Legal and Administrative Details 2020 -21

Introduction

Reports 2021

Chairman’s Report

Hon Treasurer

Consolidated Accounts

Central Council Accounts

Hon Examinations Secretary

Branch Contact Details

Please visit the branch websites for up to date contact details and details on how to join

Lancashire and North West BKA https://www.lancashirebeekeepers.org.uk/

Blackpool and Fylde	http://www.blackpoolbees.co.uk/
East Lancashire	http://www.eastlancsbees.org.uk/
Lancaster	http://www.lancaster-beekeepers.org.uk/
Liverpool and District	http://www.liverpoolbeekeepers.co.uk/
Oldham & District	http://www.odbka.org
Ormskirk and Croston	https://www.ormskirkbeekeepers.org.uk/
Preston and District	http://www.prestonbka.org.uk/
Southport and District	http://www.southportbeekeepers.co.uk/

Northern Region Bee Unit Report

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Ofcers

President Mr Ray Dowson Chairman Mr Michael Gardner Vice- Chair Mrs Janet Murray Hon Gen Sec Mr Mike Lavelle

Hon Treasurer Ms Sue Counsell Hon. Convention Officer Mrs Viki Cuthbertson Hon Handbook Sec. Mrs Diane Drinkwater Hon Exhibitions Officer Mrs Elaine Hargreaves Hon Webmaster Mr Mark Oakley Hon Education Mrs Viki Cuthbertson Coordinator

Hon Examinations Mrs Robina Johnstone Secretary Hon Examiner of TBC Accounts Disease Liaison Officer Miss Caroline Coughlin (Co-opted member) Beecraft Ms Jan Blackthorn Hazell BDI Rep Mr Martin Smith*

• It is noted that Mr Smith is also President of BDI. The Council is satisfied that this does not present any conflict of issues

LEGAL AND ADMINISTRATIVE DETAILS 2020 – 2021

Status Registered Charity Number 506167 Public address: Old School House, Ulnes Walton Ln, Leyland PR26 8LT. Patrons None President Mr Ray Dowson General Secretary Mr Mike Lavelle Independent Examiner (audit) Mrs Karen Reid The Association’s Bank: Metro Bank

Trustees: President Mr. Ray Dowson Chairperson Mr Michael Gardner Treasurer Mr Arthur Leyland General Secretary Mr Mike Lavelle and Susan Counsell

The primary Objectives of the charity are to promote and further the craft of beekeeping and to advance the education of the public in the importance of bees in the environment.

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Hon. Chair’s Report

This year we lost a dear central council colleague and long standing member of Ormskirk & Croston branch, Edward Hill. We'll each have different memories of him. Mine are of a smart dressed, quite formal and very well spoken chap who liked to surprise you with some revelation or other when you least expected it. One memory we'll share is that he was a gentleman, in every sense of the word. Our thoughts are with his family.

In October Elaine and Viki managed to pull together a combined Convention and Honey Show at Archbishop Temple School after the earlier convention date had to be cancelled due to Covid. Given there was still some uncertainty around what was happening with Covid this was an impressive feat.

Our convention actually returned in full in 2022. Thank you to everyone who came along to support it, the branch members for stewarding and Viki for all the organising. I missed the combined show in October so it was nice to see some familiar faces after so long. Hopefully the trade stands were well attended .. the alcohol stand always seems to be popular amongst our members.

Whenever I sit down to write these brief notes all I really want to do is say how thankful I am for the work that you all do both at county and branch level. I help a number of other organisations and know how valuable the people are who are willing to volunteer their time.

So thank you to the branch committees; thank you to the members of this council; and a big thank you to our elected officers.

None of this would work without you.

Michael Gardner

Chair Lancashire & North West Beekeepers Association

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Hon Treasurer’s Report to the LNWBKA Annual General Meeting April 2022 for the financial year 1st Nov 2020 to 31st Oct 2021

Annual statement

All branches have provided accounts in the required format and the closing balances have all been verified to the relevant bank account statements. After making any enquiries necessary, it is clear that there has been no income or expenditure that is out of the ordinary or outwith the LNWBKA objectives.

Accounts have been prepared and independently examined for both Central Council and on a consolidated basis across are now being circulated to Central Council members.

Many thanks to Karen Reid for acting as Independent Examiner in verifying the year end accounts and to all the branch treasurers for their assistance and co-operation in enabling the accounts to be prepared accurately and on time. It’s very much appreciated and makes the county treasurer’s job much easier.

Items from last year’s report

Looking back at my report from last year, the main items outstanding were:

Gift Aid

There was an amount of £5,099.97 within the Central Council accounts due for distribution to the branches covering outstanding Gift Aid to April 2019. This was paid out during the year. At 31/10/21 Year End, the claim up to April 2021 had not yet been made to HMRC.

Honoraria

These were brought up to date with payments made after last year’s AGM. Payments will now be due for the current period.

Banking

This time last year, we were in the process of changing banks from RBS to Metro in order to secure the £1,500 transfer incentive payment. I can confirm that this has all been completed and that the incentive was received in July 2021 and shows in the CC accounts under Sundry Income.

Highlights from the 31/10/21 accounts

Branch changes

On 1[st] January 2021, Oldham Beekeepers joined as the newest branch of LNWBKA introducing assets of £2,279.32. Medlock merged with Oldham transferring their assets of £1,249.50.

Convention and other events

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The Convention and Honey Show were combined into one event in 2021 and have broadly covered their costs.

The Leonard Ross Account

Having been extinguished in 2020, this segregated account no longer shows in the LNWBKA Accounts.

Cash balances

CC cash balances reduced from £17,536.40 to £15,224.00 allowing for cheques and deposits that had yet to clear at the year end. This reflects the fact that LNWBKA passed on the £4,739 Gift Aid which had been received in the previous year.

As a whole, LNWBKA currently ‘sits on’ cash balances of £100,580.37 , up from £89,718.84.

The Charity Commission requires charity trustees among other things to ‘ apply the charity’s income for the benefit of its beneficiaries. This usually means income should be spent rather than invested.’ However, the Charity Commission also recognises the need for charities to hold reserves in which case, the Trustees should consider the need for a reserves policy, managing the level of reserves held and the disclosure of any reserves policy in the Trustees’ Annual Report.

I have provided further comment in my notes for discussion by the Central Council meeting to be held after this AGM. For the purpose of this year end report, it is noted that LNWBKA is holding a growing cash balance which would appear to exceed a reasonable requirement for reserves.

Sue Counsell

Hon Treasurer April 2022

Lancashire and North West Beekeepers Association Consolidated Accounts to 31st October 2021

2020 Income	2021	2020 Expenditure	2021
£20,894.80 Subscriptions	£23,231.85	£152.73 Postages	£0.00
£3,146.72 Donations	£1,241.48	£1,231.63 Printing & Stationery	£218.69
£0.00 Adverts	£0.00	£15,731.00 B.B.K.A Capitation	£16,456.00

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£53.66 Interest	£14.49	£198.00 Insurance	£180.00
£669.53 Honey Shows	£312.20	£979.01 Honey Shows	£524.33
£1,828.50 B.D.I.Extra Hives	£1,662.05	£2,299.35 B.D.I.	£2,573.35
£8,111.00 Education	£7,941.00	£2,251.78 Education	£1,965.42
£1,380.75 Equipment	£0.00	£2,141.42 Equipment	£1,846.07
£2,176.85 Convention	£1,492.30	£1,512.40 Convention	£1,598.40
£1,379.63 Socials & Rafes	£176.74	£2,337.56 Socials Functions	£135.25
£5,099.97 Tax Refunds (Gift	£4,739.49	£1,207.00 Rooms	£315.00
Aid)
£24.00 Treatments	£238.95	£960.83 Lecturers	£715.00
£198.25 Newsletters	£0.00	£86.00 Treatments	£266.15
£0.00 Apiary Income	£695.00	£198.25 Newsletters/magazines	£0.00
£155.25 SundryIncome	£1,803.23	£340.00 Honoraria	£320.00
£0.00 Grants	£0.00	£128.60 Cup Engrav.& Repairs	£0.00
£190.00 Fundraising	£867.00	£0.00 Handbook	£0.00
£1,986.00 Capitation	£1,338.00	£1,218.80 Subs & Donations	£1,153.78
£1,376.96 Sales to members	£7,999.85	£239.15 Sundries	£321.00
Funds introduced	£3,528.82	£137.00 Books	£0.00
		£255.50 Admin incl postage	£820.92
		£5,995.18 Apiary	£5,195.48
		£12.00 Cap rebate	£0.00
		£0.00 Gift aid to branches	£4,739.49
		£466.77 Purchases for resale	£6,003.22
		Funds transferred	£1,249.50

£ 4

£40,079.96 Total Expenditure £46,597.05

£324.50 Closing Cash Balance £3,063.27 £89,674.34 Closing Bank Balance £98,385.60 -£270.00 unpresented cqs -£1,368.00 undeposited funds £499.50

£583.62 Opening Cash£300.42 Balance £80,553.31 Opening Bank£89,614.55 Balance unpresented chq -£20.00

£89,728.84 Adjusted

£81,136.93 Adjusted £89,894.9 7

£100,580.3 7

£129,808.80 Assets + Income

£147,17 £129,808.80 Assets+ 7.42 Expenditure£147,177.42

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Note:

There are the following differences In the closing balances for 2020 and the opening balances for 2021:

Medlock had cash of £26.71 which was not included in its closing balance at 31/10/20.

Blackpool's opening balance does not match 2020 closing balances. However, I have received a copy of their 01/11/20 bank statement and it matches this year's figures. Therefore the error was last yeer. The stated closing balances in 2020 were

£44.29 cash and £4,066.79 bank, a difference of £139.42 to the opening balances.

Consolidated closing balance 31/10/20 was £89,728.84 + £26. 71 + £139.42 = £89,894.97 (opening balance above).

Oldham Branch joined 01/01/21 with opening assets above of £2,279.32 and took In Medlock's assets at 31/12/21of £1,249.50. Medlock then ceased to be a branch In Its own right.

Dat e

Signed \ Karen Reid Independent Examiner Date O'-.e. I0'+

\ '2_'L

Lancashire and North West Beekeepers Association Central Council Accounts to 31st October 2021

202 0	Income		2021	2020 Expenditure	2020 Expenditure		2021
£15,836.00 Capitation		from £16,575.00		£0.00 Postages			£0.00
Branches
£29.65	Bank Interest		£4.62	£0.00 Printing&Stationery			£0.00
£44.39 Donations			£212.26	£0.00 Handbook			£0.00
£2,176.85 Conventions			£1,492.30	£80.00 Room Hire			£120.00
£0.00	Advertising Revenue		£0.00	£112.00 Insurance			£56.00
£347.88	Members Honey Show		£0.00	£13,850.00 BBKA Capitation			£15,237.00
£5,099.97 Tax Refunds from		HMRC	£0.00	£0.00 Subs/Donations			£0.00
£530.00 Education			£0.00	£492.85 Members Honey Show			£0.00
£0.00 Sundry			£1,533.00	£1,512.40 Conventions			£1,598.40
				£80.00 Education			£20.95
				£340.00 Honoraria			£320.00
				£128.60 Engraving			£0.00
				£0.00 Branch Tax	Refunds	from	£4,739.49
				HMRC
				£102.00 Honey Shows			£0.00
				£0.00 Sundry			£0.00
				£137.00 Books			£0.00
				£0.00 Admin (Bank Charges)			£0.00
				£12.00 Lanes Cap rebate to branches			£0.00
				£0.00 Web			£17.74
£24,064.74Total Income			£19,817.18	£16,846.85Total Expenditure			£22,109.5
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£0.00	Opening Cash Balance		£0.00	£0.00 Closing Cash Balance		£164.80
£6,796.23 Opening Bank balance			£14,008.91	£14,008.91 Closing Bank balance		£12,400.21
£3,502.28 Opening		savings £3,527.49		£3,527.49 Branch savings Account		£3,527.49
Account
£10,298.51			£17,536.40	£17,536.40		£16,092.50
	unpres cheque		£20.00	£20.00unpres cq		-£1,368.00
				undeposited funds		£499.50
				£17,516.40		£15,224.00
£34,363.25			£37,333.58	£34,363.25		£37,333.58

Note

Sundry items are £33 received in error and later refunded to Preston branch and £1,500 bank transfer incentive one of receipt.

Slgned Sue Coun8ell Hon Tfgasurer 291,.1

MEMBERSHIP SECRETARY’S REPORT FOR 2021

Each of the eight Branch membership secretaries control their respective membership data including online renewals of membership, online applications for new members, lapses and other changes to member information.

Similarly, each Branch is responsible for its own maintenance and upkeep of the BBKA membership system.

Strict abidance to GDPR rules is meticulously followed.

Despite the interruption caused by the COVID pandemic, its pleasing to report that overall membership numbers across the Association have seen significant growth.

There was a total of 888 Active members at the 2022-year end (April AGM) compared to a total of 811 members for the same period (April 2021 AGM).

I wish to thank the Branch Treasurers and Branch Membership Secretaries for their continued support throughout the year.

Mike Lavelle Hon Gen Sec & Membership Sec

EXAMINATION SECRETARY'S REPORT 2021

Lancashire members continue to pursue their education in the form of BBKA Modules and Practical Assessments.

NOVEMBER 2021 MODULE RESULTS (14)

EAST LANCS M3 CREDIT (1)

BLACKPOOL M1 PASS (1)

LIVERPOOL M7 CREDIT (1)

ORMSKIRK & CROSTON

M1 PASS (3) CREDIT (1) M2 CREDIT (1) M5 CREDIT (1) M6 CREDIT (1)

PRESTON

M6 PASS (1)

M7 CREDIT (1)

LANCASTER M3 (1) CREDIT

OLDHAM M2 CREDIT (1)

Congratulations to all successful Lancashire members.

BBKA PRACTICAL ASSESSMENTS

I am currently receiving applications which to date total as follows on eR2.

Basic 8 Hopefully many more to follow. BBKA Assessment deadline 31st August, Applications should be sent to BBKA one month before candidate is assessed.

Bee Health 11

General Husbandry. Members currently studying with Viki Cuthbertson and Master Beekeepers will take their assessments in 2023.

Advanced Husbandry. One candidate

Show Judge One Candidate

BBKA SYLLABUS CHANGES.

Candidates who sat Modules in March 2022 took the BBKA's revised syllabi. Further revision of syllabus content and a new 'History' module being planned.

PASS/FAILURE RATE

I had questioned Nicky Campbell re Online pass rate for Lancashire and was told that the issue would be raised at Exam Board meeting in late March. eR2 does not currently indicate if an applicant fails to sign in on exam day which causes confusion as to whether they have taken the Module and failed or simply been a "no show".

Online candidates are now required to log in in advance and any failing to meet BBKA Registration Deadline are not permitted to take the exam. This eliminates some, but not all of the above issue.

A few anomalies occurred within refund/withdrawals which will hopefully be rectified next year.

To conclude, I am as always grateful to Mike Lavelle, Viki Cuthbertson and Ray Dowson for their support, patience and good humour. Everyone involved in education, (including Branch Education Officers) is now getting to grips with new systems and syllabi.

My thanks to Ian Hinde who assisted me with the In Person March 2022 Modules at Ormskirk School. Results should be out shortly by direct email to candidates.

Robina Johnstone

Examination Secretary.

Honey Show Report 2021

Lancashire & North West Beekeepers Association Honey Show was held on 2nd October 2021, in conjunction with the Convention, at Archbishop Temple School, Preston.

Although presenting its own challenges, the combined event worked well, and it was good to be together again. 41 Exhibitors (including 2 branches) entered 288 exhibits (274 Staged) – understandably down a little on the last show held in 2019, but enough to provide a challenge for our judges.

The show was judged by Joyce Nisbet, Shirley Bond and Peter Lewis, ably assisted by stewards, Nicky Leeth, Robert Magee and John Mooney. The general high standard of the exhibits was praised by all the judges. The Blue Ribbon for best exhibit in show was awarded to a novice exhibitor, Graham Curwen (Ormskirk & Croston) for his Frame of Honeycomb (which he subsequently took to the National Honey Show where it was awarded 2nd prize – a tremendous achievement!)

The Sir Wroth Lethbridge Presidents Cup for the most points was won by Robert Magee.

It was slightly disappointing that only 2 branches (Preston and East Lancs) entered the branch classes, the E. McCormick President’s Branch Shield being awarded to Preston.

It would be really good to have a true “Battle of the Branches” at future shows, if more branches will take up the challenge!

Although it was a very enjoyable event, there was a tinge of sadness that two friends, who had made a tremendous difference to the running of the show in the past, had passed away: Sue “Scottie” Scott, who freely offered her help and words of wisdom (& humour!) and generally kept me sane! Mr Edward Hill who, with assistance from his daughter, took the burden of prize card writing from me during the show in 2019. They are both missed.

I would like to thank everyone who helped in any way to make the show happen: Our Judges: Joyce, Shirley & Peter Our judges stewards: Nicky, Robert & John My very capable assistant on the admin table: Mike Lavelle And all those who moved things, polished things, fetched things etc But mostly, I would like to thank all those who entered and staged so many fabulous exhibits – without you there would be no show!

Plans are well underway for the next show which is to be held on Saturday 8th October 2022 at a venue in Bamber Bridge near Preston.

There will be a wide variety of classes – something for everybody (even if there is a poor honey crop this year!); 3 senior judges; an interesting speaker giving 2 presentations.

So get planning and consider making some entries - let’s make the next one the best yet!

Elaine Hargreaves (Hon. Exhibitions Officer)

North West Region Annual Report 2021

Some notable changes have taken place during the 2021 season. Ever since I commenced my role as Regional Bee Inspector (RBI) I have sought to continue to increase our cross-border reciprocal working relationship with the North East Region headed by RBI Dhonn Atkinson. In practical terms this resulted in shared training events and the Northern Team assisting in disease outbreaks in the North East Region along the border with our original ‘Northern Region’. Apart from supporting Dhonn’s team at times of high demand, this approach was also mutually beneficial as it also acted as a ‘firewall,’ tackling any disease outbreaks before they could potentially spread to our region.

At the beginning of 2021, a review of the National Bee Unit (NBU) England and Wales regional boundaries took place. This resulted in the formal moving of the boundary between the Northern and North East regions eastwards to the M1 motorway. The Northern Region was then renamed the North West Region and lost Northumberland, Tyne and Wear and County Durham. However, to keep the regions balanced the majority of West Yorkshire, South Yorkshire and Derbyshire were transferred from the North East to the North West. We also cover a small area of North Yorkshire.

I have attached a map indicating the new boundary, the North West Region being represented by the (darker) blue area, the North East by the lighter area.

As a result of these changes two inspectors transferred regions, Brian Murphy to the North East team and Phil Khorassandjian to the North West.

The 2021 Season

During the early part of the season the often cool and wet weather did hold back some colonies. I am always hesitant to generalise without caveat, as I am sure that some beekeepers will argue the opposite was true for their stocks or locality.

However, we did receive many reports of dwindling and dead colonies in the spring. Nosema was suspected in some cases, either directly or indirectly. Evidence that varroa infestation had been present was often evident.

The summer was mostly settled and warm. Those I spoke to who had taken colonies to the heather moors at the beginning of August reported a good crop.

As a result of ongoing precautions and restrictions in connection with Covid-19 and its variants we did not undertake any Bee Health Days in 2021. However, Dhonn and I did arrange Asian hornet training for our two teams to hone tracking skills, and a training exercise led by SBI Keith Bartlem for the Harrogate Asian Hornet Team, both of which being well received. We are also currently in talks with local associations to plan Bee Health Days in May and July 2022. Further details will be published nearer the time.

With the acquisition of parts of West, North, and South Yorkshire, and Derbyshire, the North West inspectors have travelled far greater distances in 2021 to reach the more easterly and southern parts of the region. However, we have just finalised a recruitment process for a Seasonal Bee Inspector (SBI) to cover West Yorkshire.

Once in post this appointment should help us to reduce overall travelling time, and as a result release more time for field work.

I have below reproduced the inspection chart from Beebase which outlines the number of inspections carried out by the North West Team per county during the 2021 season. In 2021 the North West field inspection team consisted of myself and three inspectors, one of whom works four days a week.

----- Start of picture text -----
Colonies
Inspected
Region County Total Dea
d
North-West- Cheshire 100 3A
England
Cumbria 200 2
Derbyshire 618 17
Greater 44 6
Manchester
Lancashire 160 3
Merseyside 142 11
West Yorkshire 606 15
----- End of picture text -----

NBU Staf Changes

At the end of the 2021 season SBI John Zamorski retired. John had joined the NBU as a Bee Inspector in 2010 mostly covering Lancashire. He was an invaluable member of the North West Team. Since 2019 John had been supporting the NBU with office-based tasks, taking a significant role in staff training, imports, and with Asian hornet triage. Not only will his experience and knowledge be missed by the North West Team, but by the whole of the NBU. We wish him a happy retirement.

Across the wider NBU further staff changes have or will take place before next season. Colin Pavey, the RBI for the Western Region, and Keith Morgan the RBI for the Eastern Region both retired in 2021. Colin has been replaced by RBI Jon Axe, and Pete Davies has moved from being RBI of the Southern Region to RBI of the Eastern Region.

As part of the review mentioned earlier in this report, Southern Region is now ‘Central Region’ and will be covered by RBI John Geden. In Wales RBI Frank Gellatly will retire in early 2022, Maggie Gill has been appointed to succeed him.

Finally, from January 2022 RBI Dhonn Atkinson will be covering the National Bee Inspector (NBI) role whilst Cristina Ruiz is on maternity leave. At the time of writing Dhonn’s temporary replacement has not been identified.

From 1st April 2022, you can use the post code search on the contacts page

of BeeBase to check for your local SBI, who can be contacted from the beginning of April until the end of September. During the winter period of - October to March please direct all enquiries to the RBI ( Beebase Beekeeping information resource for Beekeepers (nationalbeeunit.com) .

Notifiable Disease

American Foulbrood

----- Start of picture text -----
10 km Squares where Number of Month
County AFB Found Area Colonies AFB
Name
Infected Found
North SE04 KEIGHLE 3 Augus
Yorkshire Y t
South UN-
Yorkshir SK38 NAME 1 Augus
t
e D
----- End of picture text -----

European Foulbrood

----- Start of picture text -----
Number of Positive
10 km Squares Month
EFB Diagnoses
EFB Found EFB
County Area Name (including re-currents)
Found
Derbyshire SK28 BAMFORD 1 April
Derbyshire SK28 vvvvvBAMFORD 3 July
Derbyshire SK33 DERBY 2 April
Derbyshire SK34 BELPER 1 April
Derbyshire SK35 WHATSTANDWELL 1 May
Derbyshire SK35 WHATSTANDWELL 1 June
Derbyshire SK43 BORROWASH 7 May
Derbyshire SK43 BORROWASH 4 June
South
Yorkshir SE50 BENTLEY 2 July
e
South
Yorkshir SE50 BENTLEY 1 Augus
t
e
South
Yorkshir SK28 UN-NAMED 2 July
e
South
Yorkshir SK38 UN-NAMED 2 May
e
South
Yorkshir SK38 UN-NAMED 2 Augus
t
e
South
Yorkshir SK59 CARR 1 June
e
West SE12 BRIGHOUSE 1 April
Yorkshire
West SE23 WEST LEEDS 1 April
Yorkshire
West SE23 WEST LEEDS 13 May
Yorkshire
West SE23 WEST LEEDS 8 Augus
Yorkshire t
----- End of picture text -----

It can be seen from the above charts that the disease found in 2021 is in the new area acquired after the

boundary moved east into Yorkshire and Derbyshire.

The NBU has a Red/Amber priority list meaning that our inspections are directed to areas of objectively calculated risk, so naturally our focus in 2021 has been the newly acquired territory. I am, however, very aware that disease can appear anywhere so this will be a consideration when planning the 2022 inspection strategy.

SBIs are given areas by 10k squares based on OS mapping. The border between regions is therefore not a linear border, mosaic-like squares hence there being some overlap.

I sometimes get asked how 10k squares are identified by the above references. You can work-out your own 10k square by taking a ten-digit OS map reference at your apiary and using the first and sixth number after the two letters. For example, if your OS map reference is SD 1 1111 2 2222, the 10k square will be SD12.

Being able to identify areas with previously recorded foulbrood is a useful tool so these lists, including for previous years, are on Beebase in the disease mapping section. However, if a grid square is not present it does not mean there is no disease within 10K as some squares are not listed but border those that have confirmed cases, and another consideration is disease may be present but not yet discovered. All these charts can do is inform where positive discoveries have been made. This can be useful if considering the movement of bees or collecting swarms, but it is best practice to assume a disease risk in every case and take appropriate precautions.

The disease mapping available to inspectors is based radial distance from incidents, but we can only use 10k squares for public use to prevent the identification of individual beekeepers.

One interesting joint initiative by the North West and North East Regions has been to take swabs from beekeepers’ vehicles whilst dealing with foulbrood outbreaks. This was undertaken in specific cases where European Foulbrood (EFB) was found across apiaries.

In the three outbreaks where swabs were taken live EFB bacteria was found on a steering wheel and other dashboard controls, on a beekeeper’s toolbox and in the area where colonies and equipment were carried for transportation. We cannot do this routinely but are able to use these findings to highlight the importance of biosecurity, the cleaning of equipment between colonies, and barrier management. Whilst in these cases EFB was the issue of concern, it shows how easily diseases in general can be spread by beekeepers. Guidance documents are available on Beebase with regards to apiary hygiene which I would encourage you to be aware of.

It is also worth mentioning that we treat ‘call-outs’ by beekeepers for suspected foulbrood as priority ‘Red’ inspections. If you suspect the presence of foulbrood, it is a legal obligation to inform the bee inspectorate. It is a free service so you will not be charged, even if we visit and deal with a confirmed incident. It is good practice to have a smartphone/camera with you at inspections so you can take pictures of anything suspicious. These can then be emailed to your SBI or me for an opinion before attendance.

BeeBase Registration and Association Membership Lists

I would like to emphasise how essential it is that all apiaries are registered on BeeBase so that we can identify any at risk of notifiable disease or an incursion of an exotic pest into the UK and target control measures effectively. Self-registration is free via the link at Beebase - Beekeeping information resource for Beekeepers (nationalbeeunit.com) or you can register by contacting the NBU office on 0300 303 0094 or your RBI. All beekeepers registered on BeeBase with a current email address will receive an automatic email alert if disease is found within 3km of the registered apiary. If you are self-registered, please ensure that you keep your apiary records up to date or contact one of us if you are unsure. Self-registration is recommended as it also gives beekeepers secure password protected access to personal details and inspection records.

Your association can send us their list of members if they wish but can only do so if they satisfy the requirements of the General Data Protection Regulation (the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) website provides guidance on best practice).

These lists are extremely useful to us as they allow us to identify new beekeepers and to update contact details for existing beekeepers. We use our database every day to prioritise our notifiable disease inspections. An upto-date list is something that will be hugely important if we are unfortunate enough to find Small Hive Beetle (SHB) in the North of England.

Surveillance of Small Hive Beetle (SHB) in Italy in 2021

Information from the National Reference Laboratory for Apiculture in Italy below, updated in September 2021, shows surveillance for Small Hive Beetle in Sicily with no positives found again this year. Meanwhile in the Calabria region on the mainland, two positive apiaries and five positive sentinel nuclei have been found, their website documents a total of thirty-seven adult beetles found this year.

Asian Hornet ( Vespa velutina nigrithorax )

On Wednesday 6th October, a beekeeper in the Ascot area of Berkshire filmed live insects near a hive. He captured a sample and reported the sighting using the using the free ‘Asian Hornet Watch' app.

The insects were confirmed as Asian hornets. After mounting a track and trace operation in the area, the nest was found in a poplar tree and was destroyed on Monday 11th October. It measured approximately 35cm in diameter, the largest nest found to date in England.

Monitoring continued in the area supported by local Asian Hornet Teams (AHTs). This involved residual trapping and surveillance and was carried out daily for three weeks following the destruction of the nest. When nothing was seen or caught for seven days the traps were removed and the local AHTs and beekeepers were asked to remain vigilant.

This success was followed three weeks later by another report of Asian Hornets feeding on nectar on garden plants in the Buckland area of Portsmouth. The report via the Asian Hornet Watch App on the morning of Friday 29th October was accompanied by clear photographs.

NBU inspectors followed up the sighting quickly, being on site by 2pm that afternoon. An Asian hornet nest was then located in a Norway Maple tree on Saturday 30th October shortly after midday and it was destroyed early Sunday evening 31st October. The nest was subsequently sent to FERA Science Ltd for analysis and monitoring continued in the area supported by local beekeepers.

An NBU tracking App has been developed for the inspectorate which has been used successfully during the 2021 outbreaks. The App can track hornet flight lines and record positions of bait stations and traps. It has been proved to be an asset when dealing with incidents.

Asian hornet nest found app October 30[th ] in Portsmouth

Track and trace mapping

If you have a smartphone, please make sure you download the free Asian Hornet Watch iPhone or Android App and familiarise yourself with what the hornets and similar insects look like. It is a bit late for this season but in the future keep a look out on late summer flowering plants such as ivy where the hornets (and other insects) forage on the flowers. Report suspected sightings using the ‘Asian Hornet Watch’ app, or by filling out an online report form, or by emailing [e-mail] or contact the NBU.

Varroa

Varroa continues to be a challenge, it is responsible for many colony losses each year, however its incidence varies across the country and depends very much on its management . Out in the field inspectors have found that the general level of knowledge amongst beginners about how to manage varroa was poor, not helped by the lack of BKA training due to the pandemic. We felt that many knew of treatments, but not much detail about them, which is something we hope to cover in our bee health events next year.

It is strongly advised that beekeepers regularly monitor mite levels as part of the management of their colonies and act if they reach damaging levels. Control can be achieved by using biotechnical methods and/or authorised products as directed by the manufacturer.

The manufacturers of the authorised treatments spend a great deal of time formulating how they should be used to ensure the maximum efficacy. Please ensure that when using treatments that the manufacturer’s instructions are strictly followed to achieve the greatest benefit from the product. It is also worth noting that some treatments, such as those that are thymol or formic acid based are affected by temperature. Strips such as those containing Amitraz need to be placed correctly in the brood chamber in line with instructions, for maximum effect. There is a new authorised varroa product - Formicpro 68.2g Beehive Strips for Honeybees which is listed on the Veterinary Medicines Directorate website Product Information Database - Search (defra.gov.uk)

Most beekeepers will complete two treatments at specific times in the year. The first after taking the honey off and checking for stores, often a thymol-based treatment starting in August, which promotes healthy winter bees. Secondly a winter treatment with an oxalic acid-based product in December, when there is little or no brood, keeping mite numbers low as new brood is normally starts being produced in the spring. Both of these active ingredients don’t induce resistance in mites through regular use, unlike some harder chemicals.

The rule of thumb is to have colonies going into winter with low mite numbers and likewise going into the spring. Treatments performed too late in the season, e.g., late September, will often be less effective, resulting in winter bees being weakened by the varroa mites feeding on them. As inspectors we often see colony mortality in the winter or early spring as a result of poor varroa management.

There is a legal requirement that the use of any medicines is recorded, and these records must be kept for a minimum of five years.

Full details can be found on Beebase along with free fact sheets including - the ‘Managing Varroa’ booklet. Beebase Beekeeping information resource for Beekeepers (nationalbeeunit.com)

Imports and Exports

The UK is now considered a Third Country by the EU and similarly all EU member states are now considered a Third Country by the UK, so Third Country rules apply for both imports and exports.

IMPORT of Honey Bees

Honey bees imported from a third country must be accompanied by an appropriate export health certificate (EHC) from the Third country. This must be issued by the Third Country’s Competent Authority or their Official Certifier. Currently only the import of Queens (in cages with attendant workers) is permitted under Third Country rules, except from New Zealand where the import of packages of bees is also permitted.

Importers wishing to import bees from a listed third country must comply with the import requirements. Importers must notify all imports in advance via the IPAFFS system (Import of Products, Animals, Food and Feed System). Imports from countries other than EU member states must enter via a Border Control Point (BCP). Until March 2022 imports from EU member states will be checked at destination by a Bee Inspector on a risk basis.

The Northern Ireland Protocol sets the principle of unfettered access for Northern Ireland businesses to Great Britain. NI beekeepers may continue to export packages and colonies to the UK. There will be no border checks on consignments despatched from Northern Ireland.

EXPORT of Honey Bees

Honey bees exported to a third country must be accompanied by an appropriate health certificate. This is issued by the NBU once the bees to be exported have been inspected and confirmed free from serious notifiable pests and diseases. Currently only the export of Queens (in cages with attendant workers) is permitted under Third Country rules to EU and Northern Ireland.

As Northern Ireland is treated as though it still resides within the EU, movements of bees to Northern Ireland must now be accompanied by a health certificate and the full Third Country export procedure must be followed.

In the same way, only queens may be exported to Northern Ireland. The export of colonies and packages to Northern Ireland are no longer permitted.

To keep up to date with the latest guidance on importing and exporting live honey bees please visit the following link

Beebase - Beekeeping information resource for Beekeepers (nationalbeeunit.com)

Finally

I would like to thank the North West Region SBIs, Julia Hoggard, Caroline Coughlin and Phil Khorassandjian for their hard work and commitment throughout the season. I would also like to thank everyone who has welcomed us into their apiaries, and those who supported the sentinel apiary schemes during 2021.

I wish you all a happy and productive 2022 season.

Mark McLoughlin Regional Bee Inspector, North West England National Bee Unit

Animal and Plant Health Agency (APHA)

Mobile: [phone] |Jabber [phone] | Email: [e-mail] Website: www.gov.uk/apha | Twitter: @APHAgovuk | Facebook: aphagov National Bee Unit Website (BeeBase): www.nationalbeeunit.com Address: National Bee Unit, Sand Hutton, York, YO41 1LZ

Telephone [phone] Fax [phone]

© Crown copyright 2020

You may re-use this information (excluding logos) free of charge in any format or medium, under the terms of the Open Government Licence v.3. To view this licence visit www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/opengovernment-licence/version/3/ or email [e-mail]

APHA is an Executive Agency of the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs and also works on behalf of the Scottish Government, Welsh Government and Food Standards Agency to safeguard animal and plant health for the benefit of people, the environment and the economy.

Branch reports

Branch reports supplied from all branches are included below.

Blackpool and Fylde	http://www.blackpoolbees.co.uk/
East Lancashire	http://www.eastlancsbees.org.uk/
Lancaster	http://www.lancaster-beekeepers.org.uk/
Liverpool and District	http://www.liverpoolbeekeepers.co.uk/
Oldham & District	http://www.odbka.org
Ormskirk and Croston	https://www.ormskirkbeekeepers.org.uk/
Preston and District	http://www.prestonbka.org.uk/
Southport and District	http://www.southportbeekeepers.co.uk/

Blackpool & Fylde Branch.

Tuesday November 16[th] , 2021. 7:30pm

A.G.M. minutes.

Attendees. C. Hibbert, P. Jamison, H. Hong, P. Goldstone, P. Leeks, D. Richardson, M. Goldstone, P. Clarke, S. Riley-Clarke, D. Coleman, C. Webb, J. Blanthorn-Hazell, E. Hassall, M. Gardener, J. Preece, J. Rimmer, D. Newton, M. Wills, K. Lay, H. Littler, W. Aucott, S. Schorn, M. Quinney, P. Leadbetter, L. Cryer, J. Cryer, C. Crabtree, Darren Unwin.

Last year’s minutes on zoom (2020) – were considered a fair representation of the meeting. No amendments were requested.

Apologies:

Alison Sykes, Peter Mason, Kevin Mawdsley, Mark O’Donnell, Win Sweeney, Keith Hemming.

Presidents Report.

Welcome to the AGM, what a great group you are to turn out tonight. Last year we had the AGM on zoom.

We have to accept that Charlie and Pam are now settling “down under” and are a great loss to the club. Both Charlie and Pam dedicated a lot of time and energy to keep the club successful. We send our best wishes and hope they keep happy and healthy in Australia.

Our thanks to Paul Leeks who has ably stood in as vice chairman and kept us together by the meetings on zoom.

Paulette our secretary of 10 years has kept us well informed and booked interesting speakers for our meetings

Thank you also to Janet our treasurer for her hard work.

Congratulations To Janet Preece who has been successful in her exams and passes on her knowledge as education officer to our new beekeepers.

It was great to see show entries from Blackpool & Fylde at the Lancashire honey show and some members did well. Keep showing, it is our chance to showcase our products.

We had a good out apiary and BBQ at Michael Gardeners. May we all carry on enjoying our beekeeping and help each other out when needed. The more you are involved, the more you learn.

I am to step down as President at the next AGM. It is a pleasure and a privilege to be your president, so it is to give someone else a chance to be involved.

Doris Richardson.

Chairman’s Report. (Read out by Paul Leeks)

Dear members of Blackpool and Fylde Beekeeping Association, it has been enthralling to watch what has been happening to Blackpool and Fylde beekeepers’ association during the past year. Covid has kept Pam and I locked in here since March 2020 and although there are many advantages to being here, our 4 grandchildren and the lovely weather, we have missed our bees and our involvement with yourselves. Covid has messed up our plans, as it has also put restrictions and difficulties with your meetings. What has been so impressive watching from here is how well you have all coped and adapted to the numerous restrictions and managed to achieve some wonderful Zoom meetings and have kept the membership informed and interested.

I must thank all the committee for their commitment to the club and especially thank Paul and Will for not only looking after our bees while we have been exiled to then sell the bees and equipment when the decision was taken to remain in Australia. It is with very great regret that I must now resign as Chairman but also as a member of Blackpool Beekeepers. Paul has been doing a wonderful job standing in for me during my enforced absence and I know he will transition seamlessly into the role of Chairman and that the members will continue to support what is a very happy and thriving association. Blackpool and Fylde beekeepers are very lucky to have a great President in Doris and a wonderful committee of very experienced beekeepers. During the years of being your chairman I am indebted to the support we all received from Paulette, Janet P. our treasurer Janet S. and Kath plus many others.

It has been a very emotional decision to leave Lytham. Our involvement with the Hall and the development of the Club Apiary gave us enormous pleasure and the Monday evening teaching sessions introduced us to some wonderful future beekeepers. Pam and I found that the more we learnt, and the knowledge gained from taking modules and teaching at the club Apiary resulted in us becoming better beekeepers. We know the apiary will be in good hands for the future with the wonderful input from the other members, The club is lucky to have so many skilled members.

We are intending to get Native Australian bees; they don’t sting just bite. Unfortunately, you only get 1kg of honey a year from them if you are lucky It sells for a huge amount of money $25 (£13) for 50gr. However, we are fortunate to have beekeeping friends who we can get local honey from. It’s not though, as good as Fylde spring blossom honey!

We have sold our house in Lytham and our belongings are in the process of being shipped out here. We have bought a lovely house out here overlooking a creek and parkland. The only downside is the occasional snake visitator!

As soon as Australia opens its borders to international tourists, then we plan to return to the UK for a holiday and catch up with all of you and family and friends. So hopefully we will be along to one of the out apiary meetings. If anyone fancies a trip to Brisbane, please come and stay with us, it’s always fun talking bees. Wishing you all the best.

Charlie Greenhill

Treasure’s Report.

I’m sure it will come as no surprise that this year has seen a slight reduction in income. We have not been able to carry out the same fund-raising activities with meetings, venues and shows being cancelled.

The out Apiary, however, has been maintained with resources purchased as and when needed and general bee care has been carried out.

I am very grateful for the help and support that I have received from fellow members this year.

Janet Rimmer.

Secretary’s Report.

Good evening, and welcome to all new members and to all our regular members.

This year has been difficult for the club with the lockdown. Many thanks to Paul Leeks for keeping us all in contact with his Zoom meetings.

The out apiary at Lytham Hall has been well attended and thanks also to the members, Keith Hemming, Paul Leeks, Win Sweeny, Janet Preese, and Derek Newton, who came down nearly every Monday evening, to go through the hives with some of our newer beekeepers.

(Apologies if I have left anyone out)

The out apiary at Doris Richardson’s was cancelled due to bad weather but those of us who did go retreated to the conservatory for tea and cakes. Doris is to have a speaker next year so if the weather is bad the speaker can give us a talk in the barn and if it is good, the speaker can take the inexperienced through the hives and teach them how to spot and mark a queen.

The barbeque and out apiary at Michael Gardeners had good weather and we all enjoyed some lovely food. Michael is having his out apiary earlier next year so we can all enjoy his wildflower meadow.

The bee awareness day, which could not be held for two years due to the lockdown, is to be reinstated and held on the first of June, bank holiday Wednesday next year at the Hall. We run a tombola at this event, if you have anything to donate for this stall it will be gratefully appreciated. Helpers needed on the day, good ideas wanted, a face painter perhaps. Can anyone do a good bee face? (Margaret Steel has offered to do the face painting)

Paulette Goldstone.

Quarter Masters Report.

Paulette and Win did a tidy up and stock take of the bee store. The bee suits have been washed and a new trunk purchased to keep them in for the winter and safe from mice.

We will be looking for volunteers from LH Monday night club to keep the store room tidy and the stock up to date. (Paul Leeks for Pam Greenhill)

Education Officer’s Report.

Module 7 in February.

Zoom, had 6 attending over 8 weeks looking at bee genetics and queen rearing. My self and another beekeeper from Liverpool took the module exam in April which was online. I had a few technical issues when using the exam software but eventually did the exam and gained a credit.

This is the first-time online exams have taken place. BBKA are offering both on line and in person ones, at the moment.

Running courses on zoom was good as members from further afield could attend without travelling.

Introduction to beekeeping May and June.

There were 2 Sunday mornings on Zoom and then meetings at the apiary on Monday evenings and 1 Sunday afternoon. This always brings some new faces into the club.

Basic assessment.

Again, run over Zoom for four weeks May/June and Monday apiary meetings. Jan Hazell gained a credit this year in her Basic Assessment – well done.

Courses next year.

Courses next year may be a mixture of online theory and practical elements on a Monday evening as the room normally used at Lytham Hall is quite small. The dates for these will be sent out when confirmed.

Courses in Lancashire will be advertised on the Lancashire Beekeepers website – members should check this if interested in doing any of these. You do not need to sit the exam/assessment, you can simply join to improve your knowledge.

Janet Preece.

Central Council Report.

Due to Covid, the Lancashire & Northwest Beekeepers Association (LNWBKA} annual convention was unable to go ahead in March, so we combined it with the honey show and hosted it at the Archbishop Temple school in Preston. Thanks to Blackpool & Fylde Beekeepers Association for volunteering to steward the day. The feedback we received was that it was really a good event.

The LNWBKA 2022 convention is already being planned with the intention of hosting it in March 2022.

Earlier this year an email from the British Beekeepers Association (BBKA) caused some consternation when it was highlighted that although registered members running an out-apiary course were covered by insurance, any members of the public weren’t. The BBKA are currently in discussion with their insurers to improve this position.

One of our longest serving council members sadly died this year. Edward Hill was a true old school gentleman and will be sorely missed.

Our webmaster, Mark Oakley, is currently seriously ill with covid but fingers crossed, he appears to be on the long road to recovery.

BBKA recently raised, or intends to, the exam fees. LNWBKA feels that since education is a core BBKA the exam fee should at least be

frozen if not reduced. To that end we have submitted a proposition saying as much to the Annual Delegates Meeting (ADM) where it will hopefully be considered / debated by all other associations and adopted by the BBKA.

Michael Gardener. ( for Eric Hassall)

Election of Officers.

Outgoing officers. Paulette Goldstone secretary, Janet Rimmer treasure, Paul Leeks vice chairman Charlie Greenhill chairman.

Elected Officers. (Proposed and seconded)

President. Doris Richardson. [e-mail]

Chairman. Paul Leeks. [e-mail]

Vice chair. Will Aucott. [e-mail]

Treasurer Karen Lay. Karenlay9gmail.co.uk

Secretary. Janet Rimmer. [e-mail]

Education. Janet Preece. [e-mail]

Librarian. Janet Preece.

Quarter Master. Out apiary will manage this.

Central Council Rep. Eric Hassall. eric_hassall@btinternet

Asst. Rep. to be appointed.

Webmaster Peter Mason. [e-mail]

Any other Business.

Janet Preece is to circulate a list of library books. Old books to be sold off. Recent relevant study books to retained.

Paul Leeks will draft a letter of thanks to Charlie and Pam for their fantastic service to the cub over the years. To be sent with a gift from this club. Doris gave Paulette a gift for her services to the club as secretary.

Doris will be stepping down as President next year.

The meeting ended at 8:30pm with an attendance of twenty-eight people.

East Lancashire branch

ELBKA Chair report 2021

Welcome

As Chair of the committee I would like to welcome all members to the annual AGM.

I would especially extend this to and new and recent members that have never experienced a face to face club meeting yet. I would encourage you to try to get involved and reach out to other members of the club. Between us we have a vast experience of beekeeping within our area that has been passed down over many years. It is a valuable resource that you should make the most of.

2021 sees us hold the AGM via zoom once again as we are far from clear of COVID.

Membership

As will be reported by our membership secretary Juli, the numbers of members remains similar to previous years. Despite an increase in our capitation fee to the BBKA, our membership subs will remain discounted, Juli will provide the details in her report. I would like to thank everyone that was able to do the online payment early, and hope everyone will do it at renewal. This simplifies the somewhat difficult task of membership management. Once again the club is indebited to Julie for managing membership during what has been a difficult year.

Finance

Club finances remain very healthy. Hilary Wilson, our treasurer talk us through the audited finances. She took on the role this year, and has done a great job, keeping control of it.

Committee

As a committee we have a zoom call roughly every month to keep the club ticking over, Viv Tolley as Club secretary keeps us in order during these meetings.

Education

The education report does show that a limited number of courses and workshops were held during 2021, despite the various restrictions, and these have been well received. Nicky Leeth hosted BBKA module 6 self study group for the spring exam, and we ran a series of queen rearing workshops. Jeff and Barrie have recently run some introductory courses for our “newBees”, and some more are planned for the new year.

We took some of our training materials and demonstration hives into Stonyhurst, West Bradford and Broadway Primary schools. These have been very well received, thanks to the members that devoted time to help.

We have operated without an Education Secretary in 2021 as the previous secretary stood down due to personal commitments. This has caused a couple of issues that have been managed, however as one of the prime objectives of the Club is education, we simply have to have someone to take a lead and coordinate our training going forward.

Club Apiary

The number of hives at the Club Apairy club hives was kept to 4, for ease of management during the various lockdown restrictions. As reported in last years minutes the decking at Offshoots was hazardous, so has been removed. It is somewhat disappointing that this work is only partially completed as we move into the winter, however I am confident that come the start of next year we will see the bees return to Towneley with a first rate teaching capability that will meet our members needs. As a committee we are engaged with the new members of the Offshoots management and have a great working relationship that we will continue to build on in 2022.

Club Meetings

In addition to our own panel of expert type meetings we have had some great guest speakers for our club zoom meeting this year.

In February Brigid Strawbridge-Howard gave us an insight into Bumblebees and other solitary bees. One lasting piece of information I gleaned was that male bumble bees have facial hair and moustaches.

Dave Bonner from Warwickshire gave us his view on Queen rearing in April, and this was followed by a number of grafting workshops lead by Dave Rayner. The weather was not too kind to us during this time, so we struggled to get the virgin queens mated, however we were successful in the end.

We had a talk from Andrew Dunham from Cambridgeshire in June on his study of how French Beekeepers are managing Asian Hornet. This will undoubtedly become a problem once travel to continental Europe returns to pre covid levels, and Asian Hornets are inadvertently brought back in camping equipment etc.

Coordinating the club meetings, organising the speakers and Zoom admin has fallen onto Barrie Scott, in addition to the work he does on the club Buzz website, club emails and the “who wants bees” swarm register. Much of what Barrie does for the club is behind the scenes and probably not apparent to anyone other than the committee. I would like to take this opportunity to once again, thank him, for what at times feels like thankless tasks, the club would be a lot worse off without his considerable efforts.

Hive openings

As we were without access to the Club Apiary a number of the senior beekeepers hosted apiary sessions for a small number of members towards the end of the season. These were much appreciated at the time, however the weather, again, could have been a lot kinder, meaning that some of the planned sessions were curtailed.

Honey Show

The Honey show this year was a physical event held in Burnley, organised by Emma. Understandably the number of entries was lower than previous years, however it was good to be back. I would encourage members to enter next year, it is quite fun to feel the tension across the room as the Judge considers each entry carefully before declaring the best in class. There is a lot of pride to be had on winning a class.

County and BBKA

Further afield the Lancashire County honey show was held this year in Preston, with a number of our members entering classes.

One of the highlights of the beekeeping year for me is the BBKA Spring Convention. This year it was virtual, and set to return to its home at the Harper Adams University in Warwickshire in April 2022

Whilst we mention the wider BBKA, we have representation to the BBKA through the county committee which meets roughly every couple of

months. Should you feel that there is something that the wider BBKA should be considering then please let one of the committee know.

Notifiable diseases in our area

The Animal and Plant Health Agency’s (APHA) Bee Inspectors formal report for 2021 has yet to be issued, but once again it looks like we have had no reporting of EFB or AFB in our area, for which we should be thankful. This does not mean however that we are free of these serious diseases and vigilance is required. We as a club should ensure all our members are aware of the signs of the diseases, and encourage potential non members to be be aware. As a minimum I would hope that all our members are registered on the National Bee Units “BeeBase” database of beekeepers and hives.

During 2021 there was a heated debate amongst the wider Beekeeping community as on source of mated Queens revealed they intended to import European mated Queens through Northern Ireland to bypass importation rules. It may well come as a surprise to many that the queens purchased from UK suppliers on the internet do not always originate in the UK.

During 2022 one of our objectives is to ensure we are self sufficient producing sufficient new queens for our members. If we are to maintain our low levels of disease we simply must try to stop members obtaining bees from adjoining counties, or abroad where the potential for Small Hive Beetle and Tropilallaps beetle has not gone away.

The maxim remains, locally raised queens are better.

Honey harvest

Most years in this report I mention some unusual weather event, too hot, too cold at different times of the year impacting the honey crop. I have now got to the stage of thinking that these variations are now the norm. Some members reported their first Spring harvest this year. Overall honey yields have been in line with previous years, but perhaps not at the same time. Himalayan balsam was late to produce nectar this year, and some members reported a lot of heather honey in supers for the first time, causing some consternation when extracting, due to the nature of the honey.

I would now pass on to the committee leads for their reports…

Closing words

To close I would reflect on what has been reported here to say we have had a good year in 2021 against the background of the continuation of the pandemic.

I would like to once again thank all the committee and members for their support and efforts in 2021

Finally we need to move forwards in 2022. We can only do this if we have members that support the club, and we need your specific help.

• We need members to attend club meetings.

• As the season starts we will need hands on help to complete the works at the Apiary

• We need input to guide the direction of the club

As always this is a specific request for you to devote some of your time to the club, to be active and not passive. We are always looking to share the workload. If you have specific skills and knowledge that will help, please make yourself known to us

ELBKA Committee members 2021-2022

Chair Dave Heaton Vice Chair Janet Murray Treasurer Hilary Wilson Secretary Gwen Walton Membership Secretary Juli Scott Education Manager Nicky Leeth Website/Comms manager Barrie Scott Honey Show Coordinator Emma Woodhouse Committee Member Jeff Ellis Committee Member Viv Tolley

Lancaster Annual General Meeting

Date: Saturday 13th November 2021

Agenda

Item Topic

• 1 Apologies for Absence

• 2 Election of Management Committee

• Chairman

• Secretary

• Treasurer

• Vice Chairman

• Education Coordinator

• Programme Coordinator

• Apiary Maintenance Coordinator

• Examination Coordinator

• Swarm Coordinator

• Asian Hornet Coordinator

• Marketing Coordinator

• Health and Safety Lead

• 3 Officers Reports

• Chair – Annual Report

• Treasurer’s Report

• 2021/2022 Subs

• Bid for funding

• Education Report

• Certificates

• 4 Commitment to 2022 Events

• Bee Health day – July 22

5 Honey Tasting

Attendees Jenny Gilpin Emma Wright Crooks Richard Wilson Linda Wilson Mark Stott Sue Counsell Edell Armes Sue Capstick Roger Jump Helen Jump Jane Rees Stephen Rose Thomas Cross Chris Humphreys Neil Buck Nicola Hacking Ian Morley and Michaela James Anderton

Apologies Kevin Gilpin Geoffrey Higginson Tracy Hornby John Barber Natalia and Roger Walton Richard and Nia Sewell Julie Harwood Christine Bell Philip Lee John Cross

Jessie and Stuart Brakewell Pat Humphreys David Wareing Vincent Smalley Peter McClintock

Item 2 – Election of Management Committee

Roger opened the meeting, welcoming attendees and pointing out housekeeping for the venue.

Jenny welcomed the attendees and explained the format of the evening for those new to attending the AGM. Roles were explained and opportunity for questions offered. Richard explained that he no longer collects swarms but does keep a list of volunteers who meet the BBKA criteria (Passed basic assessment or beekeeping for 5 years). If anyone would like to help with swarm collections to please get in touch.

Role Elected Nominator/Seconder Chairman Nicola Hacking Roger/Everyone! Secretary Emma Wright Crooks Linda/Mark Treasurer Sue CounsellRoger/Sue Vice Chairman Roger Jump Emma/Sue Education Coordinator Mark Stott Emma/Linda Programme Coordinator Edell Armes Linda/Mark Apiary Maintenance Coordinator Mark Stott Sue/Jane

Examination Coordinator Mark Stott and Emma Wright Crooks Jane/Chris Swarm Coordinator Richard Wilson Edell/Thomas Asian Hornet Coordinator David Wareing Emma/Linda Marketing Coordinator James Anderton Sue/Emma Health and Safety Lead Tracy Hornby Emma/Linda

New members of the committee were asked if they would like to introduce themselves.

Nicola has recently completed the beginners training and currently has 3 hives and is also overwintering one the clubs. Nicola works as a lawyer part time having recently returned from working abroad.

James is a new beekeeper has 4 hives and Vincent has been mentoring him. James works in social media and also runs several Facebook pages.

Item 3 – Reports

Chairman’s – Annual Report

2021 has been a successful beekeeping year with the club managing to run a full programme of educational and social events due to the mixture of COVID managed ‘in person’ events as well as lots of on line opportunities. Although the weather sadly prevented us from running the Bee Safari we received a couple of interesting talks from Buckfast Abbey by zoom which were talks we would have had to pay significantly for in the past; but we are finding external speakers much more accessible due to virtual sessions. Also our members seem to enjoy being able to join in the comfort of their own homes. Linda and Richard delivered two improvers events on Bailey comb change and extracting honey and Linda also shared her wisdom around competing at regional honey shows. We would like to encourage more members to submit items at next year’s LNWBKA Honey Show in Preston and if there is enough interest, there is no reason why we can’t do more of a local honey show as we do have lots of beautiful trophies that we haven’t used for years!

Whilst most public events were postponed due to the pandemic we did manage to fit in a late summer information stand including children’s activities at The Judges Lodgings in Lancaster, which I think we have been invited back for next year. We didn’t run a public open day at our club apiary this year, but as we had lots of people pre booked on our training, this didn’t inhibit our new intake of beginner beekeepers as we managed to run a full set of virtual theory training and then practical training at the apiary as scheduled. Mark will talk more about this shortly.

Unfortunately, the National Bee Unit cancelled the Bee Health Day this year but we have been rebooked for Saturday 23rd July 2022. This will be a heavily attended event from across the region or even further afield and for those who have never been to one, I highly recommend attending. We will also need a small army of ushers and organisers to manage the day, so please put the date in your diary.

We did manage to undertake some significant apiary maintenance this autumn with an army of workers to help Vincent improve the drainage. Thanks to all who volunteered their time and muscles to the undertaking and especially Vincent who spent two days on it. I think he just wanted an excuse to drive a digger really!  We hope the French drains will reduce cars getting stuck in particular and as the last drain lasted 10 years hopefully we won’t need to do it again for a while!

At the end of our bee club year we have 91 active members which is 19 more than last year and is split as follows:

63 Registered BBKA

13 Partner

3 Country

1 Honorary BBKA

3 Honorary LBK

11 Local (LBK only)

Included above are 3 honorary Lancaster Members; Richard and Linda and now Martin Tovey who we invited to receive honorary life membership this year.

The committee has almost completed a programme for next year and this will be shared soon with a similar variety of events.

I wish to thank our growing committee for each taking their continued time from their private lives to help the club sustain and manage itself as a friendly, hobbyist beekeeping club with an excellent reputation. I am very proud that we managed to keep the positive vibe, ensure excellent training standards and grow the membership over my 5 years as Chairman and I now look forward to sitting more on the periphery whilst the club further flourishes. And finally I wish the best of luck to our newest committee members going forward and hope you enjoy being involved as much as I have.

Treasurer’s Report

Introduction

The accounts are set out in the format required by Lancashire and North West Beekeepers Association using their categories for income and expenses.

The accounts presented are currently in Draft and have not yet been independently verified. Final accounts will be circulated with the AGM minutes.

Income and expenditure highlights

This year has seen our income (£6,539) exceed our expenditure (£5,255) generating a ‘profit’ of £1,285 compared to a ‘loss’ last year of £443 (due primarily to the COVID restrictions preventing us from running any training courses).

Income

The club’s total income in 2019/20 was £2,745, down from £4,799.76. This year has seen it increase over the 2019 figures to £6,540, with training courses bringing in £2,550 as the training team has managed to deliver a comprehensive program of theory and practical training this year.

Income from membership subscriptions is up for the third year in succession from £1,860 in 2019 to £1,943 in 2020 and £2,418 this year which again is a reflection of growing member numbers, as subs were again held at their previous level. It should be remembered that we retain only £10 of each member’s subscriptions, the remainder being passed on to BBKA and Lancashire.

Additional income of £467 came to us by way of Gift Aid reclaimed by LNWBKA for the years 2018-2019 and passed on to us. Further amounts are due for 2020 and 2021 in due course which is likely to be in the order of £800.

Finally, we also sold some surplus kit to some of our new beekeepers raising a further £250.

Expenditure

The costs allocated to the apiary make up the greatest proportion of our expenses. As well as ongoing regular expenses such as apiary rent, ongoing maintenance and beekeeping costs, there were some investments made with two new Abelo 14 x 12 hives bought at a cost £809, some new chairs and the cost of improving the drainage at the site which amounted to £700.

We had no room hire costs and speaker fees again reflected the fact that speakers we did engage were via Zoom.

Following the presentation by Jacqui Cottam of Heron Hill Primary School at last year’s AGM we were delighted to be able to make a meaningful donation of £500 to them.

Bank Balance

We opened the 2020/21 with a bank balance of £12,132 and petty cash of £63, total funds of £12,195.

We closed the year with a bank balance of £13,431 and petty cash of £49, total funds of £13,480.

2020/21 Subscriptions

Based on these accounts and the plans for 2021/22, the committee propose no change to the Lancaster Beekeepers’ element of our subscriptions which would remain at £10 for the year.

There will however be an increase for the classes of membership including membership of the BBKA as BBKA has increased their fee marginally.

Assuming that members are in favour of retaining our £10 fee, the overall subs from 1st November 2021 will be

Category of membership Previous Fee Fee from 1st November

Registered	£33.00	£35.00
Partner	£24.00	£25.00
Country	£20.50	£21.00
Junior	£20.50	£20.50
School	£33.00	£35.00
Local (LBK only)	£10.00	£10.00

We will be issuing the invitations to renew via the online renewal system some time later in November.

Reserves

Our reserves policy is to hold three years’ ongoing expenses as reserves together with any costs associated with leaving the apiary should we need to and a provision for any potential larger items of expenditure such as this year’s investment in kit and the drainage.

Ongoing costs (excluding BBKA subscriptions that we pass on) are approximately £2,000. Three years would therefore be £6,000. The committee has quantified the costs associated with vacating the apiary to be in the order of £250 to remove the container. This would represent our general reserves. In addition to this we are currently renewing our display material.

The above totals approximately £7,000.

Last year, we made a donation to The Bee Team at Heron Hill, as mentioned, and the committee invited suggestions as to how to be utilise our excess funds in line with our objectives, which are:

4 Objectives

4.1 The objectives of the Branch shall be:

4.1.1 to encourage and promote the craft of beekeeping in Lancaster and the surrounding

district;

4.1.2 to support the role of bees in the environment.

4.2 In accordance with LNWBA Rules, the Branch commits to conducting meetings, lectures

and demonstrations within the Lancaster district.

One suggestion that has been put forward is that we provide financial assistance to a project to bring bees and beekeeping to the pupils of a local primary school in Bolton-le -Sands. This is to be discussed further at the AGM.

Members suggestions would be welcomed at any time.

2021/22 Subscriptions

Vote: Should the clubs portion of membership they remain at £10?

Result: All agreed that subs should remain the same.

Bid for Funding

Jane Rees is a club member and works as a teacher at Bolton Le Sands Primary School. She and her colleague Caroline who is also a club member have set up a Bee Club with pupils. They have been busy collecting donated equipment and with Chris Humphry’s help have set up an apiary in the school grounds.

Jane presented her bid sharing a lot of information about the school before going on to ask for the club’s financial help with the purchasing of equipment so that the pupils can have hands on experience next spring with bees. The presentation is attached for you to have a look at.

Vote: Should the club provide the financial support to the school to help set up their bee club?

Result: All present voted for supporting the school, based on the presentation’s scheduled list of items needed.

A few points were raised-

The bee club/ school noted that they anticipated financing ongoing/future costs post set up from other fund raising efforts.

Would the money would be ring-fenced to the school bee club and not used by the wider school? It was confirmed that the money would be ringfenced for club use.

James thought that it might be a good idea to contact Paul at the Honeycomb Company and ask if they would be able to purchase any of the

equipment with their contacts at a better price and build a mutually beneficial relationship with the school.

Action: Sue to contact Paul and see whether they can help.

Thomas offered to help with equipment at cost price with the items they can source through a work contact

Neil recommended contacting Thornes as they may offer a discount with a bulk order for schools.

James proposed that the club ask its members to see if they have any surplus equipment that they would like to donate to the school.

Action: Emma to email club members inviting them to donate if they wish to, with no expectation.

Education Report

Beginners’ Training

There were 21 people registered onto the both the theory and practical courses this year. Due to COVID restrictions the theory sessions were held over Zoom, which according to the feedback we received was popular with the attendees for convenience reasons but they missed meeting their fellow participants until the end of the course.

The practical’s were initially well attended but numbers did dwindle towards the end mostly due to other commitments.

I’d like to thank those in the club who gave presentations and gave up their Saturday afternoons to help with practical training. A special thank you to Emma, who did the vast majority of organising the course, reminding attendees and running the zoom meetings.

Looking forward to next year and taking on the feedback we received from this year’s attendees we aim to do the following.

• Start the course earlier in early February with a face to face

• meeting.

• This will be followed by fortnightly zoom meetings.

• In late March, a face to face demonstration evening and a visit to the apiary in late May.

• I need to have a think about the practical sessions which lack structure and this needs addressing.

Apiary Report

The Bees

After a slow start, the apiary was populated from donations from club members with a mixture of full colonies and nucs. The top bar and DZ hive colonies survived over winter in the apiary.

The colonies were well used in by the beginners and for the basic assessments.

We even had honey this year!

The top bar colony remains on site this winter. The DZ after splitting and subsequently swarming, resulted in two drone laying queens. I took the decision to let them die out. I took weaker six colonies to my apiary and united them down to three overwintering colonies. Three remaining colonies are being cared for over winter by Linda, Chris, Emma and Nicola in their own apiaries.

We sold five club wooden national hives and purchased four poly Abelo 14x12. Three colonies will be overwintering in these new hives.

The grounds

Thanks to everyone who took part in the apiary tidying days. Special thanks to Vincent for his digger work. The drainage along the track has been improved so hopefully now vehicles are less likely to get stuck.

I plan to have a session in February to lay the hedge between the two apiary areas. The date TBC.

In addition, we’re investigating the possibility of having a hive in a cage near the container. This is so that members of the public can observe a hive inspection without putting on a bee suit.

A discussion was held about the possibility for the club apiary moving if a more suitable site was found. Currently it is felt that the apiary serves its purpose for its main use, the beginners training course. Setting up a new site would cost a lot of money and the funding streams we used previously are not now available. The main pressure at the club apiary is lack of bee forage which was effectively managed by moving club colonies off site from September to May during 20/21. Therefore the club remains open to the idea but not actively looking.

Action: Mark to send Emma an updated Beginners Course Information Pack so it can be sent out to those that have expressed an interest in the 2022 course.

Examination Update

Certificates were presented to those that recently took exams. Congratulations on your achievement.

Mark Stott – Bee Health

Dawn Boswell-Challand – Bee Health

Chris Humphreys – Basic Assessment

Jane Rees – Basic Assessment

Jackie Eaton – Basic Assessment

Emma Wright Crooks – Basic Assessment

Items 4 – Commitment to 2022 Events

The Bee Health Day (23rd July) booked into the programme for next year. We will need volunteers to help the day run smoothly. Jenny explained what a great day the previous ones she had been to have been and that you acquire a lot of knowledge during them.

The event is widely advertised and open to any beekeepers with more than one year’s experience. Please see our club webpage on this.

Item 5 – Honey Tasting

This year’s winner was the Club Apiary’s honey!

The club hives produced 30lbs of honey which was for sale during the AGM.

Final Note

The committee presented on behalf of the club some flowers and chocolates to say a big thank you to Jenny for being Chair for the last 6 years.

Jenny you will be missed but we wish you well in your new job and enjoy spending time with your family and new puppy.

LBK chairman’s report November 2021

2021 has been a successful beekeeping year with the club managing to run a full programme of educational and social events due to the mixture of COVID managed ‘in person’ events as well as lots of on line opportunities. Although the weather sadly prevented us from running the Bee Safari we received a couple of interesting talks from Buckfast Abbey by zoom which were talks we would have had to pay significantly for in the past; but we are finding external speakers much more accessible due to virtual sessions. Also our members seem to enjoy being able to join in the comfort of their own homes. Linda and Richard delivered two improvers events on Bailey comb change and extracting honey and Linda also shared her wisdom around competing at regional honey shows. We would like to encourage more members to submit items at next year’s LNWBKA Honey Show in Preston and if there is enough interest, there is no reason why we can’t do more of a local honey show as we do have lots of beautiful trophies that we haven’t used for years!

Whilst most public events were postponed due to the pandemic we did manage to fit in a late summer information stand including children’s activities at The Judges Lodgings in Lancaster, which I think we have been invited back for next year. We didn’t run a public open day at our club apiary this year, but as we had lots of people pre booked on our training, this didn’t inhibit our new intake of beginner beekeepers as we managed to run a full set of virtual theory training and then practical training at the apiary as scheduled. Mark will talk more about this shortly.

Unfortunately the National Bee Unit cancelled the Bee Health Day this year but we have been rebooked for Saturday 23rd July 2022. This will be a heavily attended event from across the region or even further afield and for those who have never been to one, I highly recommend attending. We will also need a small army of ushers and organisers to manage the day, so please put the date in your diary.

We did manage to undertake some significant apiary maintenance this autumn with an army of workers to help Vincent improve the drainage. Thanks to all who volunteered their time and muscles to the undertaking and especially Vincent who spent two days on it. I think he just wanted an excuse to drive a digger really!  We hope the French drains will reduce cars getting stuck in particular and as the last drain lasted 10 years hopefully we won’t need to do it again for a while!

At the end of our bee club year we have 91 active members which is 19 more than last year and is split as follows:

63 Registered BBKA

13 Partner

3 Country

1 Honorary BBKA

11 Local (LBK only)

Included above are 3 honorary Lancaster Members; Richard and Linda and now Martin Tovey who we invited to receive honorary life membership this year.

The committee has almost completed a programme for next year and this will be shared soon with a similar variety of events.

I wish to thank our growing committee for each taking their continued time from their private lives to help the club sustain and manage itself as a friendly, hobbyist beekeeping club with an excellent reputation. I am very proud that we managed to keep the positive vibe, ensure excellent training standards and grow the membership over my 5 years as Chairman and I now look forward to sitting more on the periphery whilst the club

further flourishes. And finally I wish the best of luck to our newest committee members going forward and hope you enjoy being involved as much as I have.

Lancaster Beekeepers 2021 Treasurer’s Report

Introduction

The accounts are set out in the format required by Lancashire and North West Beekeepers Association using their categories for income and expenses.

The accounts presented are currently in Draft and have not yet been independently verified. Final accounts will be circulated with the AGM minutes.

Income and expenditure highlights

This year has seen our income (£6,539) exceed our expenditure (£5,255) generating a ‘profit’ of £1,285 compared to a ‘loss’ last year of £443 (due primarily to the COVID restrictions preventing us from running any training courses).

Income

The club’s total income in 2019/20 was £2,745, down from £4,799.76. This year has seen it increase over the 2019 figures to £6,540, with training courses bringing in £2,550 as the training team has managed to deliver a comprehensive program of theory and practical training this year.

Income from membership subscriptions is up for the third year in succession from £1,860 in 2019 to £1,943 in 2020 and £2,418 this year which again is a reflection of growing member numbers, as subs were again held at their previous level. It should be remembered that we retain only £10 of each member’s subscriptions, the remainder being passed on to BBKA and Lancashire.

Additional income of £467 came to us by way of Gift Aid reclaimed by LNWBKA for the years 2018-2019 and passed on to us. Further amounts are due for 2020 and 2021 in due course which is likely to be in the order of £800.

Finally, we also sold some surplus kit to some of our new beekeepers raising a further £250.

Expenditure

The costs allocated to the apiary make up the greatest proportion of our expenses. As well as ongoing regular expenses such as apiary rent, ongoing maintenance and beekeeping costs, there were some investments made with two new Abelo 14 x 12 hives bought at a cost £809, some new

chairs and the cost of improving the drainage at the site which amounted to £700.

We had no room hire costs and speaker fees again reflected the fact that speakers we did engage were via Zoom.

Following the presentation by Jacqui Cottam of Heron Hill Primary School at last year’s AGM we were delighted to be able to make a meaningful donation of £500 to them.

Bank Balance

We opened the 2020/21 with a bank balance of £12,132 and petty cash of £63, total funds of £12,195.

We closed the year with a bank balance of £13,431 and petty cash of £49, total funds of £13,480.

2020/21 Subscriptions

Based on these accounts and the plans for 2021/22, the committee propose no change to the Lancaster Beekeepers’ element of our subscriptions which would remain at £10 for the year.

There will however be an increase for the classes of membership including membership of the BBKA as BBKA has increased their fee marginally.

Assuming that members are in favour of retaining our £10 fee, the overall subs from 1st November 2021 will be

Category of membership Previous Fee Fee from 1st November

Registered	£33.00	£33.00	£35.00
Partner		£24.00	£25.00
Country		£20.50	£21.00
Junior	£20.50		£20.50
School		£33.00	£35.00
Local (LBK	only)	£10.00	£10.00

We will be issuing the invitations to renew via the online renewal system some time later in November.

Reserves

Our reserves policy is to hold three years’ ongoing expenses as reserves together with any costs associated with leaving the apiary should we need to and a provision for any potential larger items of expenditure such as this years investment in kit and the drainage.

Ongoing costs (excluding BBKA subscriptions that we pass on) are approximately £2,000. Three years would therefore be £6,000. The committee has quantified the costs associated with vacating the apiary to be in the order of £250 to remove the container. This would represent our general reserves. In addition to this we are currently renewing our display material.

The above totals approximately £7,000.

Last year, we made a donation to The Bee Team at Heron Hill, as mentioned, and the committee invited suggestions as to how to be utilise our excess funds in line with our objectives, which are:

4 Objectives

4.1 The objectives of the Branch shall be:

4.1.1 to encourage and promote the craft of beekeeping in Lancaster and the surrounding

district;

4.1.2 to support the role of bees in the environment.

4.2 In accordance with LNWBA Rules, the Branch commits to conducting meetings, lectures

and demonstrations within the Lancaster district.

One suggestion that has been put forward is that we provide financial assistance to a project to bring bees and beekeeping to the pupils of a local primary school in Bolton-le -Sands. This is to be discussed further at the AGM.

Members suggestions would be welcomed at any time.

Sue Counsell

Treasurer

9th November 2021

Training and Apiary Officer’s Report for 2021

Beginners’ Training

There were 21 people registered onto the both the theory and practical courses this year. Due to COVID restrictions the theory sessions were held over Zoom, which according to the feedback we received was popular with the attendees for convenience reasons but they missed meeting their fellow participants until the end of the course.

The practicals were initially well attended but numbers did dwindle towards the end mostly due to other commitments.

I’d like to thank those in the club who gave presentations and gave up their Saturday afternoons to help with practical training. A special thank you to Emma, who did the vast majority of organising the course, reminding attendees and running the zoom meetings.

Looking forward to next year and taking on the feedback we received from this year’s attendees we aim to do the following.

• Start the course earlier in early February with a face to face meeting.

• This will be followed by fortnightly zoom meetings.

• In late March, a face to face demonstration evening and a visit to the apiary in late May.

• I need to have a think about the practical sessions which lack structure and this needs addressing.

Apiary Report

The Bees

After a slow start, the apiary was populated from donations from club members with a mixture of full colonies and nucs. The top bar and DZ hive colonies survived over winter in the apiary.

The colonies were well used in by the beginners and for the basic assessments.

We even had honey this year!

The top bar colony remains on site this winter. The DZ after splitting and subsequently swarming, resulted in two drone laying queens. I took the decision to let them die out. I took weaker six colonies to my apiary and united them down to three overwintering colonies. Three remaining colonies are being cared for over winter by Chris, Emma and Nicola in their own apiaries.

We sold five club wooden national hives and purchased three poly Abelo 14x12. Two colonies will be overwintering in these new hives.

The grounds

Thanks to everyone who took part in the apiary tidying days. Special thanks to Vincent for his digger work. The drainage along the track has been improved so hopefully now vehicles are less likely to get stuck.

I plan to have a session in February to lay the hedge between the two apiary areas. The date TBC.

In addition, we’re investigating the possibility of having a hive in a cage near the container. This is so that members of the public can observe a hive inspection without putting on a bee suit.

Mark Stott

Liverpool branch

Branch Secretary’s Report

Another beekeeping year massively affected by the continuing COVID-19 pandemic. Zoom committee meeting and lockdown restrictions continued. Even when restrictions were eased, people were quite rightly very cautious about venturing out.

Our first branch meeting was in June with a 30 people limit - all of whom had to pre-register and adhere to strict social distancing procedures. It was great to meet again and we were treated to an interesting talk on Queen rearing by Mark Phillipson from North Cheshire branch.

The traditional branch BBQ, usually held at Woolton, was cancelled as unfortunately Dave Harrison wasn't too well. This event was replaced with a very pleasant social gathering at the Courtyard, Little Crosby. Thanks to Matt Jones for his hospitality.

August's meeting was held outside at the Woolton Apiary (August Bank Holiday). Karl Colyer went through the hives - and even did a little grafting.

September saw John McCann give a very detailed talk about how to prepare your honey and wax and related products for the show, using plenty of props to help in the Campion Tennis Club in Crosby.

The promise of a good first surplus of honey due to an early warm spring was dashed by a prolonged wet spell in May - the bees relying on their stores for food. This was followed by very mixed summer weather with plenty of swarms reported. A warm Autumn has kept the bees very active - our beekeepers report feeding more than usual. Those who took hives to heather in North Wales reported a good crop.

We unfortunately lost one of our longest serving members Evelyn Hall this year. Evelyn used to hold memorable meetings in her garden in Fulwood Park. She will be sadly missed.

Our Chairman Peter Wass, our Membership secretary Geoff Todd and our Education Secretary Cliff Porter are all stepping down and will need to be replaced at the AGM.

The Rice Lane apiary has had a major facelift thanks to some very hard work by Tony Gordon, Angela Falconer, Eric Graham and Matt Jones. Matt used his digger to clear a large area and laid the foundation for the apiary to develop even further in the next few years. Maria at the Farm has been very appreciative of the work that has gone on - and the honey she has received.

Our Beginners’ Course was delayed until later than usual - and we had 9 successful newbees. Thanks to Cliff, Tracey and Geoff for managing to stage this despite being faced with the restrictions we are all having to get used to.

John Mooney, Branch Secretary, October 2021

Oldham and District Bee Keepers Association Branch of L&NWBKA Society

Chair’s report

The merging of Oldham and Medlock clubs has continued successfully with a few hiccups along the way but, with a lot of good will has been successfully carried out under the guidance of Martin Smith and Mike Lavelle who we thank for their help.

Unfortunately this year our Chair Idrees Khawaja and Secretary Ian Screen had to stand down for personal reasons. Our good wishes for the future and appreciation for their past services to our club go with them.

We are looking forward to a successful and enjoyable bee keeping season this coming summer and enjoying the fruits of our and above all the bees labour in our great hobby.

Talks and Events

A very successful Christmas Jacob’s table was held and enjoyed by all. Most members retired at the end of the evening with full stomachs and quite a few smiling faces.

Talks by Ian Barker on queen rearing and Honey Bee Tool Kit by John Hewitt were held and well received and found quite informative by the members. A number of other events and talks are planned for the coming year.

Examinations

Three of our members successfully passed with distinction the basic assessment.

George Tavener (Chair)

Branch Secretary’s Note

As the new branch Secretary for Oldham and District, I have had a warm welcome from members and long standing supportive Committee members since picking up the reigns from Ian Screen at the start of this year. Of the current 73 active members, we have a very good proportion attending the monthly meetings. It is a significant amount of personal effort by committee members and our members to make these meetings both enjoyable and informative, and in between, we provide our members with regional and national updates as well as disseminating our monthly newsletter .

You will have noted that George Taverner has been appointed our new branch Chair and we have also appointed Bob Holland as our Vice Chair. Other additional committee appointments made in this year are Catherine Charnock who is also Education Officer, and Luke Charnock who will be leading a new forum around communication and enabling IT to support that.

We look forward to increasing our visibility and collaboration with other branches, community partners and Lancashire & NW over the coming year.

Amanda Moat (Branch Secretary)

Preston BKA

Chairpersons’ Report 2021

My aim tonight is to thank everyone for their support during another difficult year.

This year we have had to adapt the way we run the club because of the continuing restrictions due to the Covid pandemic. We have had to embrace technology, particularly zoom, to continue with committee meetings, education courses and training events. We have also had to change the way we organise the inspection rota at the out apiary to make sure we have complied with the seemingly constantly changing Covid restrictions.

I would like to thank the members of the committee for the support they have given Viki and me during our year as acting Chairperson. They have always found ways to carry on the activities of the club and to support each other through the trials of the epidemic.

I would also like to thank all the members who have volunteered their time and energies to keep the club running, inspecting bees, and maintaining the out apiary. The club would not be able to run without your continuing support.

I would also thank to thank Shaun Horsfield for his generosity in offering us the use of this training room free of charge.

The officers and members of the committee will now report on the club’s activities in greater detail.

Jane Hassall & Viki Cuthbertson

AGM 2021 Election of Officers and appointment of Committee Members

It is usual at this stage to hand over to the Secretary for the election of the Chairman but as neither myself or Viki are standing for election then I’ll continue with the election of officers & committee

Chairperson

We have received one nomination so far Lianne Doree proposed by JH Seconded by AM

Treasurer

Arthur Leyland p KS s

Secretary Kath Shield p VC s

Election of the committee

The following members would like to continue: SBirkby, C Carey, C Coughlin, V Cuthbertson, A Leyland, A Manwaring G Paul, S Shield, K Pearson, K Cordingly New members J Harrison, A Fowler any others Auditor John Ward

Election of Committee members - roles Membership Secretary - KP Education Sec - AM Apiary Managers - VC & JE Shop Committee - AL, KS, GP Honey Show Coord - CC Programme Sec – avail Show/events coordinator – avail Website/zoom coordinator – avail

Date of AGM 2022

Apiary Manger’s Report 2021

There was a quiet start to the year at the Joe Birkby Teaching Apiary. The Pandemic restrictions were still in place when regular inspection of the bees began, so sadly we could not have our beginners join us for the weekly sessions in the spring. Thankfully, most of the Inspectors were again willing to continue so we had a team working with the bees, on a rota basis, through to the summer, when we were finally able to reinstate the Saturday morning sessions. Jan Elkins joined me this year as Deputy Apiary Manager, she is an experienced beekeeper and is a valuable addition to the team.

Mr Good’s final donation to the Club was his shed – a substantial building with a clock tower! This required a special effort by a team of volunteers to get it dismantled, transported to the Apiary and reassembled. A special thank you to all involved.

This year has seen the launch of the shop at the apiary, which has proved popular with members, I am sure it will go from strength to strength.

I will finish with my very grateful thanks to the Inspection Team for continuing to support our bees through the pandemic and beyond, and also to thank the Maintenance Crew who have erected the third shed, and are currently working on a patio, new paths and a gate and fence . You all do a fantastic job, and the Apiary would not function without you.

Viki Cuthbertson Volunteer Apiary Manager

AGM 18th November 2021

Secretary Report

It’s good to finally have everyone back face to face. We have seen a return to normality this year with the bees carrying on regardless – although under the watchful eye of Viki our apiary manager and the inspection team. The beginner’s course went ahead at the start of the year on Zoom with small groups visiting the apiary complying with restrictions at the time.

There has been a lot of interest in beekeeping and plenty of membership enquiries throughout the year. It’s also been a bumper year for bumblebees if the number of queries re bumblebees nesting in roofs, bird boxes etc are anything to go by.

Restrictions were finally lifted at the end of July and the apiary reopened with a good turnout on that 1[st] Saturday.

Shows and events have gone ahead including the Chorley Flower Show and the Garstang Show. Our own Preston Honey Show was a great success with 90 entries and Preston Branch won the Display Entry for the third time and the photo competition.

The club is going from strength-to-strength with the shop far exceeding our expectations. We now have a shop committee dedicated to continuing its growth and success in the future.

We have continued to hold committee meetings on Zoom and have run our Basic Assessment and Bee Health course and had a 100% pass rate for these exams.

Our teaching apiary now has 3 sheds with gravel and flags laid as well as a new gate and fence. Many thanks to our Thursday Crew for all their hard work.

We have 109 members as of our Autumn Return and a new venue to hold our meetings in. There are speakers booked for next year and our future looks very bright.

A big thank you goes to our committee for all their hard work this year in keeping the club and the apiary going and I hope you’ve all had a successful year with your bees.

Here’s to a peaceful and restful festive season for us and our bees.

Kath Shield

Secretary

Education Secretary’s Report 2021

Despite the continued threat of the coronavirus epidemic, beekeeping continued

and we were able to provide different educational opportunities via zoom meetings.

After the lifting of restrictions, practical activities were also undertaken.

Our beginners’ course was delivered through zoom meetings and was very

successful, with sessions delivered by different club members being followed by small group discussions. Thanks are due to all who helped to deliver the sessions. A total of twenty-seven people took the course. This included one junior member, people from different areas of Lancashire and, thanks to zoom, three people from Essex! As the restrictions were eased, we were able to follow the theory sessions with practicals at the Joe Birkby Teaching Apiary and thanks are due to all those who helped with this aspect of the course. Mentoring services were offered to new beekeepers and this aspect of the course is very much appreciated by those who receive assistance in the early stages of beekeeping. A big thank-you goes to those who provide verbal advice and practical assistance (you know who are)!

This year, the training for the Basic Practical Examination was undertaken by Jane Hassall and Jan Elkins with zoom sessions followed by practicals at The Joe Birkby Teaching Apiary. All the candidates passed the exam, with some earning credits or distinctions, so thanks to Jane and Jan for their hard work and commitment.

After the cancellation of written exams last year, this year the candidates were able to sit the exams in person or remotely via a computer, so the people who studied for module 5 last year with Viki Cuthbertson were able to take the exam this year. Thanks to Viki for organising the training and thanks also to Viki and Kath Kindred for providing refresher sessions for all those candidates who took and passed the Bee

Health Practical Exam this year.

Certificates for successful candidates were awarded at the Annual Convention, at which visiting speakers provided opportunities for extending beekeeping knowledge. Thanks to Viki for organising the event.

Thanks to Liane Doree for organising the club Honey Show. This is a good social occasion, providing an opportunity for all beekeepers to extend their beekeeping repertoire and for new beekeepers to take home a trophy. The co-operation and skills of different club members was evident at the

County Honey Show, with the club winning two trophies for displays of photographs and mixed beekeeping products.

Despite our ‘Home’ show at Myerscough College Open Day being cancelled early in the year, we managed to have a stall at several other events throughout the year. These included The Fylde Vintage and Tractor Show, Garstang Show, Goosnargh Show, Chorley Eco Market and three days at Chorley Flower Show. Many thanks to all the people who helped to organise and give up their time to attend these events as well as those members who continue to spread the word via talks to different community groups and schools.

Thanks to Viki for the online newsletters that keep people informed, provide helpful tips and have proved to be effective in harnessing the support of members for tasks at the club apiary (especially when free coffee is on offer)! As beekeepers and bees hopefully have a well-earned winter break (despite global warming sometimes confusing the bees) we look forward to another eventful year in 2022.

Alan Manwaring - PBKA Education Secretary

Lancashire and North West Beekeepers Association

Preston & District Branch

AGM Treasurer’s Report November 2021

Despite all the problems of COVID I am happy to report that the activities of the club have continued and that the bank balances remain healthy. As a result, we have been able to keep the club portion of the membership fees to £3.00 per member.

The Bank account is held with Barclays. Online Banking makes payments and general banking easier. The dual signature to operate the account is safeguarded by the banks dual authorisation system. Two members A. Leyland (Treasurer) and V. Cuthbertson (Vice Chair) are signatories for the account and operate the online banking system. For convenience this is being increased to 4 by the addition of K. Shields (Secretary) and L. Doree (Committee Member)

Taking into account, £960 advance membership payments for 2022, the closing bank balances have increased by about £640. In addition, we have shop stock totalling £2628.

The membership closed at 168 paid up members, a slight increase on last year. This yielded about £550. During the year we have received £941 outstanding Tax Refund (Grant Aid) for the year 18/19. (The refunds for years 19/20 and 20/21 are still outstanding)

As in previous years the main source of income has come from running courses, these yielded over £1700. Thanks to all the members who give their time and expenses freely to run the courses, these courses make almost 100% profit for the club.

The shop, a new venture for the club opened in April. Its two main objectives to provide equipment to members at a reduced price whilst making a small profit for the club have exceeded all expectations. Sales have totalled almost £7500, 199 receipts/invoices have been issued and 66 members have used its services.

Payment by BACS has again worked well with most of the membership and course fees, and a majority of shop sales being paid by BACS. This eliminates the need to visit the bank and makes accounting much easier. Payments by cheque and particularly by cash are causing problems due to the closure of bank branches.

Expenditure once again has been kept to a minimum. COVID has resulted in fewer meetings and the cancellation of the Christmas Social.

Another extractor has been purchased, it is stored at the apiary and is available to members.

The Apiary expenses of £1177 include the completion of the third shed, about 40m re-aligning and refencing the perimeter, a new gate, extensive groundwork and paving. Apiary expenses also include, caring for the bees and replacing beekeeping equipment.

For the first time all the expenditure has been paid by BACS.

Many thanks to Alan Manwaring, Vikki Cuthbertson, Keith Pearson, Jayne Hassall, Sheila Birkby, Neil Buck, and the shop team Gill Paul, Jan Blanthorn Hazell and Kath Shields, who throughout the year have collected and recorded monies for the club. You have all helped to make my role as treasurer much easier.

Arthur Leyland

Treasurer Preston & District Beekeepers.

Southport Branch

Secretary’s Report for the AGM, 2021.

During lockdown, communications were very limited as of course we were not allowed to meet in person. However, the committee did hold a few, fairly successful Zoom meetings, it was good to catch up.

Since we were allowed to meet up again, the branch has got busy, and I hope I manage to keep communications running smoothly? The number of emails I circulate can vary week to week, and although no longer a beekeeper, I am happy to carry on as secretary.

Chrissy Gregory.

Joint Chairman’s Report Southport & District Beekeepers 2020/21

1. We are sorry to report that not a lot has happened again this year with our association owing to the Covid19 virus

2. The winter was a fairly mild one again followed by a very warm spring and then the weather took a nosedive with it being wet, windy and cold. Members had problems with queens either disappearing or not mating properly. Honey on the whole at the backend was in short supply again because of this poor weather.

3. Diane and Lorraine have been looking after the Branch Apiary this year. Thanks to them.

4. Our Introduction to beekeeping course, taster days and our main publicity event, The Southport Flower Show, all had to be cancelled due to the virus and lockdown, but our monthly meetings have resumed. Hopefully next year we will get back to some sort of normality.

5. Diane Drinkwater has taken on the job of our Education Officer and has organised some module tutoring online as well as organising monthly speakers at our venue in the Fleetwood Sports & Social Club again.

6. The supply of spilt sugar from Tesco’s has now resumed with a good amount now coming in.

7. As regards the situation with our Branch Apiary site at Hesketh Park. Barry has been attending zoom meetings with Suzanne McCuminsky from Sefton Council and the volunteers from the park. The latest situation is that the council’s solicitors are in dialogue with an organisation to takeover the lease of the whole of the old Oakbridge site. I asked if we would have to leave when the new leaseholders take over and Suzanne has said we will have to ask the new organisation when and if this happens but for the meantime we can still occupy our part of the site.

8. The Southport Flower Show is back on again for 2022 and because we lost our organiser, Scottie, earlier on this year, we need volunteers to help put together a committee to run the Bee & Honey tent.

9. Finally can we thank all the committee and members for their hard work in what has again been a very trying year and hopefully 2022 will be a much

better one.

Barry & John (Co-Chairs)

Treasurer’s Report 2021

----- Start of picture text -----
Membership 2019/20 2020/21
Full 52 52
Partner 3 3
Country 0 0
Junior 1 1
Family/Social 4 3
Totals 60 59
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The BBKA did not increase capitation for 2021 so branch subscription fees remained unchanged once again. Income to the branch from 59 members, after Capitation and BDI payments, is £141.00. The sale of branch honey at the apiary raised £134.00 and we attended one event at Bank Hall where we raised a further £79.90. We received £241.34 Gift Aid for 2019 subscriptions, but we are still awaiting Gift Aid payments for 2020 and 2021. Repairs and maintenance of the club shed and apiary cost a total of £366.34. The branch made a profit of £205.89. The bank balance at the end October is £8685.78. Finally, I would like to thank Barbara Farbon for verifying the accounts. This concludes the Treasures Report to the SDBKA AGM 2021.

Karen Reid, Treasurer

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Thanks to all branches for providing reports.