1997: Getting Started
During 1997 my interest in insects took a new turn. I decided that I
wanted more of a challenge:
I have always wanted to keep bees but not really had the courage; living
in an urban environment and I was reluctant to go into the expense. What
I did and would recommend to anyone who is interested in bees is I joined
a summer evening class. The local beekeeping society here in York holds
summer courses for beginners, and there is nothing to compare to several
hives all opened-up up at once by a group of first time beekeepers! Clouds
of the insects would surround us. There is no way a book could teach us
what we experienced and although I still regard myself as very much a
novice even after a few years, this grounding really gave me the confidence
to get started.
On the last week of the course our instructor told me of an old beekeeper who was retiring after a lifetime of keeping bees. Although he'd sold most of his equipment there was still several hive boxes, frames and the two hives of bees in his back garden that he wanted to sell-off. This was a chance I could not afford to miss.
My first step was to ask parental & neighbours permission. I think that they already regard me as slightly mad anyway and it was either bees or the noise of me welding and grinding old motor cars to contend with so I think they plumped for the bees as less of a disturbance.
So there it was. September 1997, I was going to become a beekeeper: For £60 I was now in the possession of two neglected hives and lots of old boxes and frames, my father and I built a small enclosure of fencing and I went with my him to collect my two new colonies in his transit van: I am so glad we didn't have an accident or get stopped by the police on the way home!
For the rest of the year John and I just observed our new charges, working out what to do next: Contemplating what we had just let ourselves in for.
That is how the Waites started beekeeping.
Sadly I didn't think to record my early stages. This picture was taken early 98 but shows our two hives and the protective wooden fence we built to enclose them…
