Bees Living in My Garden. How it all Started.

Beekeeping & Apiculture Forum

Help Support Beekeeping & Apiculture Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.
Joined
Jun 15, 2023
Messages
122
Reaction score
203
Location
South East Lincolnshire
Hive Type
National
Number of Hives
1 occupied at present. Plenty unocupied and awaiting tenants.
Bees Living in My Garden. How it all started. (Part 1)

The year was around 1974/75. I had a busy Garage business. A new customer had arrived in a shiny Jaguar.
"I have a Landrover that needs some repairs." he had announced. That was not a problem. We regularly serviced and repaired a great many Landrovers, plus we had two of our own in the Recovery Fleet.

"I must have it back that evening!" our new customer had insisted. That could be a problem, I explained. New parts will probably be required and if they were not held at the local Main Dealer, even a Red Star Express rail delivery from London to our local station (do you remember that?) would mean they may not arrive until late afternoon - and possibly too late to complete the job that day.

"I MUST have the Landrover back at the end of the day!" our new customer insisted. "Could you partly dismantle to see what has to be replaced, get the parts and fit them another day?" I agreed that we could do that, but it would make the job more expensive since we would be carrying out some of the work twice.

Our customer quickly dismissed that obstacle with an "Of course! I can accept that".
I was beginning to wonder why it was so important for our customer to have his Landrover back at his home each evening.

On the due day the maroon, series II Landrover arrived at the Garage.
"You might find the odd bee wandering around inside it."
our customer admitted. "Oh, and its a bit sticky!" he had added rather apologetically. "You see, I keep bees! That’s why I must have it back in the evening – so I can attend to them."

I was a somewhat surprised. "How do you see inside the hives at night?" I queried with interest. Our customer explained that he had to transport his hives at night to the fields and orchards of his clients for pollination. He would be out from dusk until the early hours of the following morning, moving hives of bees from one site to another and also taking the honey they had collected.

The repairs were satisfactorily completed. Our new customer was happy and the sticky maroon Landrover became a regular customer.

Some months later, after quick service on the sticky Landrover, I delivered it to our customer’s house.
"How are your bees?" I enquired, making friendly conversation.
"They are very well, thank you." Our customer replied with a grin.
"Are they a hobby?" I then asked.
"They used to be." he said a little ruefully. "I used to be a Bank Manager before I retired. Bee-keeping was just a very relaxing weekend hobby for me."
"So its no longer a hobby?" I queried, slightly puzzled.

My customer shook his head and led me over to a detached double garage adjacent to his house. He opened one of the large doors. The garage was completely full of boxes stacked almost to ceiling height.

"Honey!" commented my customer laconically. He could see that I was astonished.
"I now earn far more money from the bees than I ever earned as a Bank Manager". He said a little regretfully. I was even more astonished.
"My clients pay me to take my bees to their farms and orchards to pollinate their crops.” he explained. “While the bees do the pollinating there, they also collect nectar to make honey which I then then sell"
We chatted a little more about bees, and the snippets of information I learned there remained stored in my head.
Perhaps it was at that time that the seeds were sown!

It was some several years later, in the 1980’s and after I had sold the Garage business, the wife and I visited a popular 'Country Show' one weekend. As we wandered past the many exhibits there was a large marquee occupied by the county Bee-keeper's Association. I'd still not forgotten the 'sticky maroon Landrover' that we looked after for several years at the Garage. We gazed curiously at the various 'bee related' items on display and for sale. At one end of the marquee there was a sign stating "Observation Hive" and various posters giving a brief explanation of life inside a beehive.

I was intrigued and so was my Good Lady. As soon as there was room there, we moved over to look through the transparent hive walls at the activity going on inside. I was amazed. It was the first time I had seen inside a beehive and this one was also occupied. At first sight it seemed chaotic with bees seemingly milling about aimlessly..

An arm passed between us and pointed into the hive. "Now you look there, and them's the workers who've just come in with nectar and pollen" said a soft voice with a 'country' accent emanating from behind us. We turned to see a slightly built man, certainly the wrong side of seventy years old. He had a flat cap that was doing its best to cover some short untidy white hair (and not succeeding very well) and a moustache that seemed to have a mind of its own; probably because it had clearly been subjected to far more nicotine smoke that it deserved.

Our guide continued explaining what could be seen happening inside this hive. Very quickly, what had at first seemed random chaos began to make sense to me. I was intrigued and began asking more questions. Eventually I began asking what was involved with keeping bees and what were the necessary requirements and obligations.

"Are you local?" asked our guide.
I shook my head and told him the village we lived in some fifteen or so miles away. Our guide just nodded. "That’s where I live, too." he said nonchalantly. "Give it some thought. If you decide to start keeping bees, give me a call and I'll put you right." He took a short grubby stub of a pencil from his pocket, grabbed a flyer from a nearby Honey Stall and wrote "Albert Lewis", his address and telephone number. We chatted a little longer before leaving.

My Good Lady had picked up a 'Bee-keeping Equipment' mail order catalogue on our way out of the bee marquee. On the following Monday I ordered a "Bee-keeping Starter Kit". A veil, a smoker, a hive tool and some gloves arrived later in the week.

On the following Friday evening I perused the 'Small Ads' in the local weekly newspaper delivered earlier that day. Suddenly my attention was riveted. "4 WBC Beehives with bees, Good strong stock. Ill health forces sale." was the text. I showed the advertisement to The Lady of The House. She simply said "Phone now before someone else gets them."

I telephoned the number given. Three hives had already been sold and there was just one hive left. Suddenly I was making arrangements to drive some thirty miles that same evening, into the wilds of southern Suffolk to collect a hive full of bees "after nine thirty!" Luckily, the elderly vendor had enlisted a neighbour to help lift the securely roped hive into our vehicle, fortuitously a Safari Landrover with plenty of room. The outer lifts were stacked separately to make transport easier.

Later that night, illuminated by the Landrover reversing lights we carefully placed our new hive in its chosen location. There was one brood box and one shallow.

The next morning, following the instructions from the vendor, I was up very early to go and pull the foam sponge from the entrance of our 'new' WBC Hive and put the ‘outers’ on. We had left the hive overnight with just the roof balanced on top of the crown board. We both stood watching the bees begin to exit the hive and then start flying around, probably muttering "where the hell are we?" to each other. By the time we ventured out again after breakfast, the bees were already in full flight. Obviously by now they had worked out ‘where the hell they were' and were now busy and working hard.

I waited until mid morning before telephoning Albert Lewis. "'E's over the farm with a swarm." said a female voice that I guessed belonged to Albert's wife. "Goo and see 'im thar." she added. I drove up to the farm that was about a hundred yards from Albert's house (if you want that distance in centigrade, call it a hundred metres - but it will then be a little further away!). There was Albert with a swarm of bees that had landed on the side of a farm building. He had a large cardboard box and seemed to be putting handfuls of bees into the box. I remained watching from a very respectable distance.

After a short time Albert came over and recognised me from the previous weekend. "I take it you've decided to become a Bee-keeper?" he queried with a smile.
I nodded and said yes.
Albert nodded towards the myriads of bees milling around the cardboard box. "You can have that one." he said kindly. "We just need to quickly find you a hive."
I explained rather apologetically that I'd just bought a hive complete with bees the night before and told him exactly what I'd acquired so far. He listened intently and nodded. "Right! we'll just leave them alone to settle down. We can have a look inside next weekend."

That sounded sensible advice. Albert then asked if I still wanted the swarm he had just collected. I said I would love to have them but I only had one hive. "Give me your 'phone number" said Albert "I have a few contacts who may be able to help."

Malcolm B.
To be continued. (there is a limit to the number of characters in a posting.)
 
Last edited:
Bees Living in My Garden. How it all started. (Part 2)

I had been home for a little over and hour and was sitting on a log with a cup of tea, just watching the bees flying in and out of the hive when I was called indoors because Albert had telephoned. "I've found a hive for yer and some other bits if yer still keen fer the swarm." he told me. "'E don't want much for 'em".

I drove up to Albert's house and we then set off to a little village about fifteen minutes drive away. Albert's Bee-keeping friend John, together with his wife, greeted me like a long lost relative. We all trouped down his garden path to a large shed that smelled exactly the same inside as the sticky maroon Landrover. On the floor in the middle of the shed was a complete WBC hive - the same height as the hive I had bought the night before.

John explained that he had 'taken the bees out to join with another colony' only a few days previously and he was slowly reducing his accumulation of hives. This hive was complete and ready to receive a new colony of bees. Albert took the top off and looked carefully inside the boxes. Everything looked in very good condition to my extremely unpractised eye, and John assured me there was no disease in any of his hives. I readily agreed to the purchase. John then took a couple boxes and a couple of outer lifts out of the corner of the shed and gave them to me. "You'll need to get some frames and foundation for those." he said. "Albert will show you what to do". We carried everything out to the Landrover and then went indoors for a cup of tea with John and his wife.

Albert and John were chatting about bees and John's wife began talking to me and seemed very pleased to see someone new taking up the hobby. She asked me what I had acquired so far and as I reeled off the list, John suddenly turned to me and asked "Have you got an extractor?" When I admitted that I didn't have one yet he stood up with a "come with me." We went back to the shed and after rummaging in the shadows he produced an elderly four-frame extractor followed by a equally elderly 'settling tank'. "You can have have those." he said generously. "I haven't used them for some years. Give them a good cleaning and they will be fine for you to start off with."

We drove home with a Landrover full of bee-keeping equipment. We stopped at the farm and Albert went over to look at the swarm in the cardboard box. After a few moments he called me over. "Most of them are in there now." he announced. "I've sealed the box. If you carry it over to the car we can hive them straight away."

I picked up the box and was surprised to feel the weight of bees inside it. Once back home we placed the new hive near to the first hive. "We need a large sheet of white paper and a board for the bees to run up." announced Albert. I produced a length of white melamine-covered chipboard almost the same width as the hive and about twice as long. Albert pronounced it to be "perfect". The melamine board was securely propped to join flush with the hive alighting board. "Open the box carefully but quickly." instructed Albert. "Then gently tip the bees out onto the lower part of the board." I did as I was instructed, fully expecting the air to be filled with angry stinging bees - and neither of us was wearing a veil or gloves!

The bees tumbled out of the box and simply spread out on the white board. "They're off!" declared Albert in a satisfied voice as, like factory workers leaving their premises at five o'clock, the bees all began to march up the board to the hive entrance. The first bees to arrive at alighting board faced inside the hive and began fanning. "They are calling the others." explained Albert. "Now, lets find the queen." he added.

A few moments later Albert pointed to a thick mass of bees scrambling up the board "There she is!" he exclaimed. That was the first time I had seen a queen bee and she seemed very anxious to run up the white board and get inside the hive. I hoped that it was a good sign.

We waited patiently until all the bees were off the white board before it was removed and now stored safely for possible future use. Albert passed the time by telling me various snippets of information about collecting and hiving a swarm. Finally he gave both hives a quick glance "I think we're done here, boy. Leave 'em both alone and call me next weekend. We can then have a look inside the first one." he said contentedly. "We'll leave the swarm alone for at least two or three weeks!" he added

On the way taking him back home I asked Albert how much I owed him for the swarm of bees and all his time today. He was horrified at the suggestion. "I don't want no money, boy!" he said earnestly. "I'm just very pleased to see somebody new take up bee-keeping." he added emphatically.

I thanked Albert profusely and we confirmed the arrangements for the first hive inspection the following weekend.

Malcolm B.
(To be continued.)
 
Last edited:
Bees Living in My Garden. How it all started. (Part 2)

I had been home for a little over and hour and was sitting on a log with a cup of tea, just watching the bees flying in and out of the hive when I was called indoors because Albert had telephoned. "I've found a hive for yer and some other bits if yer still keen fer the swarm." he told me. "'E don't want much for 'em".

I drove up to Albert's house and we then set off to a little village about fifteen minutes drive away. Albert's Bee-keeping friend John, together with his wife, greeted me like a long lost relative. We all trouped down his garden path to a large shed that smelled exactly the same inside as the sticky maroon Landrover. On the floor in the middle of the shed was a complete WBC hive - the same height as the hive I had bought the night before.

John explained that he had 'taken the bees out to join with another colony' only a few days previously and he was slowly reducing his accumulation of hives. This hive was complete and ready to receive a new colony of bees. Albert took the top off and looked carefully inside the boxes. Everything looked in very good condition to my extremely unpractised eye, and John assured me there was no disease in any of his hives. I readily agreed to the purchase. John then took a couple boxes and a couple of outer lifts out of the corner of the shed and gave them to me. "You'll need to get some frames and foundation for those." he said. "Albert will show you what to do". We carried everything out to the Landrover and then went indoors for a cup of tea with John and his wife.

Albert and John were chatting about bees and John's wife began talking to me and seemed very pleased to see someone new taking up the hobby. She asked me what I had acquired so far and as I reeled off the list, John suddenly turned to me and asked "Have you got an extractor?" When I admitted that I didn't have one yet he stood up with a "come with me." We went back to the shed and after rummaging in the shadows he produced an elderly four-frame extractor followed by a equally elderly 'settling tank'. "You can have have those." he said generously. "I haven't used them for some years. Give them a good cleaning and they will be fine for you to start off with."

We drove home with a Landrover full of bee-keeping equipment. We stopped at the farm and Albert went over to look at the swarm in the cardboard box. After a few moments he called me over. "Most of them are in there now." he announced. "I've sealed the box. If you carry it over to the car we can hive them straight away."

I picked up the box and was surprised to feel the weight of bees inside it. Once back home we placed the new hive near to the first hive. "We need a large sheet of white paper and a board for the bees to run up." announced Albert. I produced a length of white melamine-covered chipboard almost the same width as the hive and about twice as long. Albert pronounced it to be "perfect". The melamine board was securely propped to join flush with the hive alighting board. "Open the box carefully but quickly." instructed Albert. "Then gently tip the bees out onto the lower part of the board." I did as I was instructed, fully expecting the air to be filled with angry stinging bees - and neither of us was wearing a veil or gloves!

The bees tumbled out of the box and simply spread out on the white board. "They're off!" declared Albert in a satisfied voice as, like factory workers leaving their premises at five o'clock, the bees all began to march up the board to the hive entrance. The first bees to arrive at alighting board faced inside the hive and began fanning. "They are calling the others." explained Albert. "Now, lets find the queen." he added.

A few moments later Albert pointed to a thick mass of bees scrambling up the board "There she is!" he exclaimed. That was the first time I had seen a queen bee and she seemed very anxious to run up the white board and get inside the hive. I hoped that it was a good sign.

We waited patiently until all the bees were off the white board before it was removed and now stored safely for possible future use. Albert passed the time by telling me various snippets of information about collecting and hiving a swarm. Finally he gave both hives a quick glance "I think we're done here, boy. Leave 'em both alone and call me next weekend. We can then have a look inside the first one." he said contentedly. "We'll leave the swarm alone for at least two or three weeks!" he added

On the way taking him back home I asked Albert how much I owed him for the swarm of bees and all his time today. He was horrified at the suggestion. "I don't want no money, boy!" he said earnestly. "I'm just very pleased to see somebody new take up bee-keeping." he added emphatically.

I thanked Albert profusely and we confirmed the arrangements for the first hive inspection the following weekend.

(To be continued.)
Thank you for going to the bother of penning that. What a fab tale! Hopefully it will inspire others to share how they got bitten (stung?) by the lovely madness that is beekeeping.
 
Thank you for going to the bother of penning that. What a fab tale! Hopefully it will inspire others to share how they got bitten (stung?) by the lovely madness that is beekeeping.
No, thank you for reading it and responding. I do enjoy writing.
My 'accounts' seem to be well received here - and they are probably all I can really contribute to this illustrious Forum.

I agree. I t would be great to hear how other members began their 'Beekeeping Experience'.

Malcolm B.
 
Last edited:
Malcolm that was a fantastic read ,A lovely way to start the day ,i really enjoy your beekeeping tales and do please keep them coming ,as a lot of others clearly enjoy reading them too .
Perhaps you could Pen a novel there is a lot of beekeepers out there who may want to read it .Have a great day
John.
 
Malcolm that was a fantastic read ,A lovely way to start the day ,i really enjoy your beekeeping tales and do please keep them coming ,as a lot of others clearly enjoy reading them too .
Perhaps you could Pen a novel there is a lot of beekeepers out there who may want to read it .Have a great day

Thank you John, for your very kind words. I'm very glad you and others enjoy these little offerings..

I have done a couple of works. One is fully completed (107,000 words) and the other is nearing completion (will exceed 250,000 words) - both are fiction.

Another "work in progress but nearly completed" is factual.

I also did a short kids book for my youngest two granddaughters. This is based on stories I told my two daughters when they were quite young (and completely believed whatever I told them!).

Unfortunately, there is not a 'bee' an any of them.

However, you have given me an idea!!!

We must keep in touch.

Kind regards,

Malcolm.
 
Hi Malcolm ,have you.got a ISBN for your books 📚 😀
John
Hi John,

Not got around to publishing yet so no ISBN.

Only one book is completed and ready for publication. It's printed out on A4 and 'sort of' bound. I've printed off a few for friends and family.

I'm not quite sure what to do with the second book. When it's completed it will be circa 450 A4 pages. That's nearly half a ream when printed on both sides!!!! I may just be able to bind it??

I have also been beginning to code it for e-Pub, but I have so many other projects too . . . . . . . . . . .
Thank goodness I don't have to take the bees for a walk three times a day!

The factual book is in the process of conversion from one DTP format to another since I stopped using Microsoft some Years ago. (I now use Linux Ubuntu on five computers). I used to use PagePlus almost exclusively for DTP, but that was only coded for Windows and incompatible with Linux

P.M. me if you are interested to know the details, genre, plot, etc,

Kind regards,

Malcolm.
 
Bees Living in My Garden. How it all started. (Part 2)

I had been home for a little over and hour and was sitting on a log with a cup of tea, just watching the bees flying in and out of the hive when I was called indoors because Albert had telephoned. "I've found a hive for yer and some other bits if yer still keen fer the swarm." he told me. "'E don't want much for 'em".

I drove up to Albert's house and we then set off to a little village about fifteen minutes drive away. Albert's Bee-keeping friend John, together with his wife, greeted me like a long lost relative. We all trouped down his garden path to a large shed that smelled exactly the same inside as the sticky maroon Landrover. On the floor in the middle of the shed was a complete WBC hive - the same height as the hive I had bought the night before.

John explained that he had 'taken the bees out to join with another colony' only a few days previously and he was slowly reducing his accumulation of hives. This hive was complete and ready to receive a new colony of bees. Albert took the top off and looked carefully inside the boxes. Everything looked in very good condition to my extremely unpractised eye, and John assured me there was no disease in any of his hives. I readily agreed to the purchase. John then took a couple boxes and a couple of outer lifts out of the corner of the shed and gave them to me. "You'll need to get some frames and foundation for those." he said. "Albert will show you what to do". We carried everything out to the Landrover and then went indoors for a cup of tea with John and his wife.

Albert and John were chatting about bees and John's wife began talking to me and seemed very pleased to see someone new taking up the hobby. She asked me what I had acquired so far and as I reeled off the list, John suddenly turned to me and asked "Have you got an extractor?" When I admitted that I didn't have one yet he stood up with a "come with me." We went back to the shed and after rummaging in the shadows he produced an elderly four-frame extractor followed by a equally elderly 'settling tank'. "You can have have those." he said generously. "I haven't used them for some years. Give them a good cleaning and they will be fine for you to start off with."

We drove home with a Landrover full of bee-keeping equipment. We stopped at the farm and Albert went over to look at the swarm in the cardboard box. After a few moments he called me over. "Most of them are in there now." he announced. "I've sealed the box. If you carry it over to the car we can hive them straight away."

I picked up the box and was surprised to feel the weight of bees inside it. Once back home we placed the new hive near to the first hive. "We need a large sheet of white paper and a board for the bees to run up." announced Albert. I produced a length of white melamine-covered chipboard almost the same width as the hive and about twice as long. Albert pronounced it to be "perfect". The melamine board was securely propped to join flush with the hive alighting board. "Open the box carefully but quickly." instructed Albert. "Then gently tip the bees out onto the lower part of the board." I did as I was instructed, fully expecting the air to be filled with angry stinging bees - and neither of us was wearing a veil or gloves!

The bees tumbled out of the box and simply spread out on the white board. "They're off!" declared Albert in a satisfied voice as, like factory workers leaving their premises at five o'clock, the bees all began to march up the board to the hive entrance. The first bees to arrive at alighting board faced inside the hive and began fanning. "They are calling the others." explained Albert. "Now, lets find the queen." he added.

A few moments later Albert pointed to a thick mass of bees scrambling up the board "There she is!" he exclaimed. That was the first time I had seen a queen bee and she seemed very anxious to run up the white board and get inside the hive. I hoped that it was a good sign.

We waited patiently until all the bees were off the white board before it was removed and now stored safely for possible future use. Albert passed the time by telling me various snippets of information about collecting and hiving a swarm. Finally he gave both hives a quick glance "I think we're done here, boy. Leave 'em both alone and call me next weekend. We can then have a look inside the first one." he said contentedly. "We'll leave the swarm alone for at least two or three weeks!" he added

On the way taking him back home I asked Albert how much I owed him for the swarm of bees and all his time today. He was horrified at the suggestion. "I don't want no money, boy!" he said earnestly. "I'm just very pleased to see somebody new take up bee-keeping." he added emphatically.

I thanked Albert profusely and we confirmed the arrangements for the first hive inspection the following weekend.

Malcolm B.
(To be continued.)
Hi Malcolm, are you still in South Suffolk?
 
(y)

Let Makenzie Crook have a read of this and it would turn up in Detectorists or Worzel Gummidge
Or an entirely new series... Perhaps 'Beeholders', 'Apis taker's guide to beekeeping' or something else amusing. I'm sure there are enough anecdotes on this forum to make a few seasons. Mackenzie Crook's pained expressions would be perfect for those moments when a bee gets somewhere it shouldn't or the other half discovers you in the kitchen surrounded by spilt syrup/honey...
 
Great story. I'm envious of your memory. I have no recollection to what got me interested in beekeeping 15 years ago. I probably saw it on the telly and thought 'I wouldn't mind having a go at that'. I joined the forum and TonyBloke came around for a visit and a bit later, dropped a swarm off. Good days
 

Latest posts

Back
Top