other beekeepers dead outs

It would appear to me that many an old codger should be reassessed for their beekeeping skills just as with the driving test, because thinking about thinking does not do the job.

MM, don't beat yourself up about the QE as this slipped through the net on a number of occasions on the forum during the autumn!

clv101 said:

Personally, I think every new beekeeper should have to pass something similar to the BBKA's Basic Assessment. That level of knowledge should be a requirement.

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I think someone wrote on here: to fail the basic you have to throw the bees on the floor AND actually dance on them.

I think active membership of this forum would be more useful than a test. Reading the threads on here is an excellent way of learning about things to do and things not to do.

beeno said:

reassessed for their beekeeping skills

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Or doing the basic on your own hive so your history of beekeeping is evident?

Or have basic plus (Like pass plus) as a separate thing where you inspect your own colony in front of someone.

I am saddened by the cause of these losses. Had someone asked me for a spare roof for winter I would gladly have lent one, as I'm sure most members on here would. The same goes for advice on insulation, QE, etc. and that's where the exams are important. At basic level it's a guarantee that certain skills have been tested. Today's Basic May not be broad or tough enough, but that's easily remedied. I support the licensing of beekeepers, it's coming soon.
I also think that in the year before driving tests were introduced there would have been similar discussions - with someone saying 'you can keep your little book, I'm continuing driving'.

Edwardking said:

Today's Basic May not be broad or tough enough, but that's easily remedied.

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....doing a three year apprenticeship working with bees on a beefarm, before being allowed to have your own bees, could help, perhaps.

I've been thinking about Isolation Starvation Avoidance and came across this old thread of exactly that name which has some good ideas:

http://www.beekeepingforum.co.uk/showthread.php?t=25561

Had someone asked me for a spare roof for winter I would gladly have lent one, as I'm sure most members on here would.

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so would I if there was an acceptable good reason why they couldnt go to B&Q

"I support the licensing of bee keepers" - yes, let's turn a pleasant hobby into something that is full of form-filling and bureaucracy. That will improve the standard. Then we can just leave it to the professionals who do it mainly for profit. Yup, can't see any problems with that. I mean our farming, under licensing and bureaucracy, has significantly improved the biodiversity of our countryside and hasn't fallen foul of the pressure from government subsidies and the pesticide and agri-chemical businesses at all. It's also significantly reduced disease (as long as you ignore foot and mouth and BSE and...).

No, that's a really great idea.

jd101k2000 said:

"I support the licensing of bee keepers" - yes, let's turn a pleasant hobby into something that is full of form-filling and bureaucracy. That will improve the standard. Then we can just leave it to the professionals who do it mainly for profit. Yup, can't see any problems with that. I mean our farming, under licensing and bureaucracy, has significantly improved the biodiversity of our countryside and hasn't fallen foul of the pressure from government subsidies and the pesticide and agri-chemical businesses at all. It's also significantly reduced disease (as long as you ignore foot and mouth and BSE and...).

No, that's a really great idea.

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only if I get a photo ID badge on a pretty cord to hang around my kneck..

Oh! and a clipboard.

Dishmop said:

only if I get a photo ID badge on a pretty cord to hang around my kneck..

Oh! and a clipboard.

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I could print you off a range of attractive certificates too.

Great thread MM, bravo!
As to licencing, unenforceable and unnecessary, apart from if you wish to sell your honey, when it becomes a good idea imho.

jd101k2000 said:

No, that's a really great idea.

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Going to happen though, like it or not.

alldigging said:

I could print you off a range of attractive certificates too.

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I've already got a copy of one somebody proudly showed on the forum some time back.

Laws dont do much in the way of stopping people doing illegal things.

If kids can get hold of drugs I dont think getting cigarettes poses much of a problem.
Dangerous dogs.
Guns.
Using phone while driving.
Drunk driving.

Fatbee said:

(although learning by mistakes is very effective way of learning!)

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Just very costly.

There's a wealth of knowledge on this forum. People only have to ask ,there will always be the numpty that asks stupid questions, but the genuine people who need the help (& do use the search button) are treated fairly.

Dishmop said:

Laws dont do much in the way of stopping people doing illegal things.

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Fairly heavy penalties if caught though, especially when it has anything to do with animals and food production for sale to the public.

The only people I can see who will 'benefit' from compulsory registration would be those with their useless bits of paper on the wall - they can then sit there feeling even more smug and still go out there and put matchsticks under their crownboards which have their feeder holes open anyway.

It remind me a lot of the coastal waters of Britain - although registration is not compulsory yet, there are loads out there who have done their day skipper/powerboat level 2 whatever, called into the chandler for their jaunty little 'skipper' hat then go out to sea shouting 'steam gives way to sail' which is a total fallacy BTW or ignoring each and every rule of the road because they have a certificate!
I honestly cannot understand these people who clamour for the added layers of regulation,restriction and bureaucracy that compulsory registration would bring. are they that insecure? All it would do would be to take beekeeping underground then added strain on the taxpayers purse for extra enforcement officers to chase them all down.
All to make their little bit of paper look a bit more important

.
Hivemaker is the last to licensing beekeeping. To sell stuff to hobby beekeepers is his business.

One guy wrote to me years ago: " let them kill their hives. I sell them new in spring".

alldigging said:

Or doing the basic on your own hive so your history of beekeeping is evident?

Or have basic plus (Like pass plus) as a separate thing where you inspect your own colony in front of someone.

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I thought that's what 'Basic' is: inspecting your colony in front of an assessor, and being asked a few questions. That's how I did mine. I think any new beekeeper will benefit from doing one.