I started keeping bees in 2002. Over the next few years, I moved from one hive to sixteen. 

In 2008 I ran the Beginner Beekeeping Course at Newbury College. As a primary school teacher, I had the skills, together with the beekeeping passion, to lead this course and did so for the next few years.

In 2009 I took my Basic Assessment examination with the British Beekeepers Association and the following year, 2010, took my General Certificate of Beekeeping Husbandry Assessment. This qualification enabled me to become an assessor for the Basic Assessment. Both are practical examinations and an avenue I favour as opposed to the modular written examinations option.

I was invited to work on the Education and Health Committee for the British Beekeepers Association as the element of education grew in popularity within the hobby.

In 2013 I was asked to be chaperone for the English team involved in the International Meeting of Young Beekeepers. This event began in 2010 and involves teams of three students (aged 12-16), representing their country in beekeeping, to undertake beekeeping activities and to socialise with like-minded students, each year in a different country. 

We travelled to: Germany in 2013, Poland in 2014, Slovakia in 2015 and in 2016 the Czech Republic. The British Beekeeper Association, hosted this event in England with 20 different countries participating. This took place at Marlborough College. It was televised and I appeared on Countryfile in July 2017 with Anita Rani and our team of three students. Raising the awareness of the hobby for the next generation is a desire of many beekeepers and certainly one of mine.

Working as a full-time teacher meant I had to step away from this event as it grew in popularity and increased to a weeklong event in term time. 

In 2019, with the support of my headteacher, I set up ‘Bee Club’ in Englefield C of E Primary School encouraging the beekeeping hobby for the next generation. 

In 2020 I decided to leave the classroom to support and assist those who wish to keep bees but lack time, and sometimes knowledge, to do so consistently. However, I continue my links with the school, returning every summer term offering the practical opportunity of ‘Bee Club’. This is an afterschool activity to those interesting in getting up close with honeybees. It is not a hobby for everyone but hopefully a great opportunity for some.

The pandemic certainly did not stop the continuing care of the hives I manage. 

2022 was a memorable year for honey – there was lots of it. It was a particularly hot summer when my working day started before 7am and was completed by midday. Any temperature above 22 degrees is challenging in a bee suit and gloves but 25 degrees and above can only really be described as unpleasant. 

Hot summers generally mean little or no nectar from lack of rain so the predictions were for a poor summer harvest. Here in West Berkshire, Spring harvest was good but the Summer harvest surprised and surpassed all expectation bring in a record harvest. Of course, there are always a few expectations.

The Summer of 2023 yielded a darker honey across the country, perhaps more hawthorn than usual. The rain of July 2023 came at the wrong time to benefit the honey harvest. 2023 harvest was an ‘ok’ year but most would say ‘not the best’.

I was lucky enough to help select and then chaperone the three teenagers who represented England in the 2023 International Meeting of Young Beekeepers in Slovenia. Having not been involved in the event since 2017 it was amazing to reunite with so many familiar faces from other countries. A beautiful country where beekeeping is at the heart. Forty countries were represented in Slovenia. While the competition in beekeeping played its part it was the friendships made that made the whole event such a huge success. 

New clients for me in 2023 and more bees meant it was a busy summer season and hopefully a successful first year for some. 

The winter, while an enjoyable bit of downtime, is always a testing time. We do all we can through the late Summer and Autumn and hope the bees make it to the warmer temperatures as Spring begins. Monthly checks of food stores in hives is as much as we can do through the winter. It is always reassuring to remember that bees survive the cold better than the wet conditions – something to hang on to when we had some daytime temperatures starting at -7 degrees. However, our wet February and into March days were far from ideal.

I currently manage between 50 and 60 hives depending on the time of year. These are in groups from two to eight on different sites – largely rural.

It has been announced that 2024 event will be Dubai in December. An exciting prospect for all the teenage beekeepers out there who hope to be selected. We select our team of three students in June 2024. 

2025 IMYB will be in Ireland which should be something to look forward to as well. Not sure I will continue to be involved but promoting the hobby for the next generation will always be a focus for me. I continue to teach and share the hobby with the children at Englefield Primary School during the summer term alongside caring for an ever increasing number of colonies in Berkshire.