SURREY BEEKEEPERS ASSOCIATION Founded 1879
Croydon	Epsom	Farnham	Guildford	Horsham& C	Kingston	Reigate	Weybridge	Wimbledon

Reigate Division

Full details are on the Reigate Division Website:
http://www.reigatebeekeepers.org.uk.

Apiary
In the Grounds of Boxhill School - http://www.boxhillschool.org.uk - located off the Old London Road, Mickleham, Dorking.

Meetings
Weekly meetings at the teaching apiary on Box Hill throughout the season (April to August) for both beginners and advanced members. From the middle of April until August every Wednesday at 6.30pm

Seasonal Bee Clinics held at Boxhill School.

Winter evening meetings are held at the Woodhatch Centre in Whitebeam Drive, approximately one mile south of Reigate.

Courses
Winter Courses available with qualified tuition.
10 week beginners course

Dates: 10 Mondays starting 12th January 2009 at 7.30p.m.
Venue: The Woodhatch Centre, Whiebeam Drive, Reigate RH2 7LS.
Tutor: tba... (2007 Alan Byham (Regional Bee Inspector))
Cost: tba... (2007 £80.00)
Contact: Secretary 01737-223274 or adcor@tiscali.co.uk

Library
There is an extensive library of books, leaflets and videos

Events
A very well subscribed Honey Show every autumn.

Other information
Extracting equipment for hire at a nominal charge.
Swarm collecting service.
Visiting advisers for newcomers.

Contact
Hon. Secretary - 01737 223274

BBKA REIGATE DIVISIONOF SURREY BEEKEEPERS ASSOCIATION

Chairman's Report for 2006

Membership
Membership continues a steady growth and we finished the season with 78 members.

The Mickleham Apiary, Brockham and Buckland
Once again, we are grateful to Boxhill School for the use of our apiary site and for the use of their classrooms for bee clinics, to Martin and Louise Smith for the use of the Brockham site and to Mr and Mrs Laurenson for use of the apiary at Buckland.

Our hives at Mickleham did not over-winter well and only two colonies survived. The same problem was reflected in the apiaries of several members. Eddie Webster came to our rescue with four strong colonies. A big thank you to Eddie for this.

Once again, spring was cold and wet. There was very little spring flow. However, the hot summer weather allowed the bees to catch up. Reports of the main flow are mixed. Some members have had a reasonable year and others have experienced very poor yields. At Mickleham we had a reasonable yield, given the amount of manipulations the bees endure (it is, after all, a training apiary). Thanks are due to Alec Bourhill for extracting and bottling the association's honey and for storing our show equipment.

Our weekly meetings on Wednesday evenings have been well attended and parking has become an issue! In order to preserve good relations with the village hall committee it is important that we all try to park on the apiary site, however tempting the hall car park may be.

This year we gave each evening a different theme. Instructors were asked to work these themes into each inspection, with due regard to the skill level of their group.

At the beginning of the season, with our responsibilities for the health and safety of members and visitors in mind, we distributed a guideline for procedures and management in the apiary. The aim was to remove any uncertainty as to what is expected of members at the apiary and to give a clear chain of command. To this end we appointed an apiary coordinator, Angela Merritt, to be responsible for visitors and new members whilst on site and we designated an instructor for each hive. Thanks to Angela and to our instructors. These guidelines are currently being used by Surrey BKA as the basis for a county-wide 'code of best practice'.

Andrew Buchanan took on his new role as equipment manager with relish and we started the season with two beautifully organised bee sheds and quite a bit of new equipment, including a range of bee suits for visitors and new members. It is important to remember that it is not Andrew's job to clean used equipment. That is part bee husbandry. Any member returning equipment to a shed should take personal responsibility for cleaning it.

Thanks are also due to Malcolm Fry for all his considerable work, behind the scenes, at the apiary.

Once again, Cyril Humphries has kept the grass trimmed and tidy in the apiary and parking area. Thank you Cyril for all your hard work. It is much appreciated.

Training
Winter beginners' course
This year our course was run by Maurice Field. Maurice is a very experienced teacher of beekeeping and he gave our students an excellent grounding. Thanks Maurice. 24 students attended the course. A good proportion joined us for practical sessions at Mickleham and have become valued members of the division. We also welcome the new members who joined us during the summer.

A pre-season frame making afternoon in March was enthusiastically received by members of the beginners' course, despite the inclement weather. Thanks to all who helped out on the day.

Beginners at Mickleham
Two hives were allocated to beginners, led by two of our most experienced beekeepers, Audrey Gill and Mike Hill. These have been very popular groups and it has proved hard to extract them from the apiary at the end of the evening!

Basic Assessment Group
Two more hives were allocated to members planning to take their British Beekeepers Association Basic Assessment. The instructors were Adam Leitch, Marion Minton and Jilly Aarvold. Thanks to all of you.

Audrey Gill, the county examination secretary, organised a 'mock basic' exam at Mickleham on 3rd June and bravely volunteered to be the guinea pig. The event was open to other divisions and was well attended. I believe all those who attended achieved a pass.

Six of our members went on to pass their Basic Assessments: Bob Bradford, Paul Cleaver, Tom Moreman, Geoffrey Pejus, Pauline and Robin Sparkes. Well done to you all.

Almost half our members now hold the basic certificate and a number hold higher qualifications. To put that in perspective, I understand that less than 15% of the BBKA membership holds the 'basic' and it is believed that about half of Britain's beekeepers belong to the BBKA!

Two Reigate members, Audrey Gill and I, were invited by the BBKA to become assessors for the Basic exam.

Senior group
Some of our senior members, led by Richard Woodhouse, managed a colony with a target of honey production. Like so many beekeepers this year, they were beset with problems but a harvest was produced.

Queen Rearing
Andy Robinson led a queen rearing group with the able assistance of Malcolm Fry. The group used one colony at Mickleham and made good use of our site at Brockham. This was a new project and has been a learning year for the group. Based on the knowledge gained this year, we hope for great things next season.

Throughout the season our president, Malcolm Broatch, has mentored the queen rearing group and given the benefit of his enormous experience to many members. Thank you Malcolm.

Microscopy
A two day course was held in March, at John Hamer's Black Horse Apiary near Guildford. Ten members attended. A second course was held in November and a third is planned for March 2007. Many thanks to John Hamer for his teaching and his boundless enthusiasm! Also thanks to Paul from Merrist Wood for lending microscopes.

With an eye to future members, it is encouraging to know that we already have a healthy number of enquiries for our 2007 winter beginner's course.

Bee Health
Bee clinics were held at the beginning and end of the season. Many thanks to all the microscopists and helpers who made the days possible. We checked a total of 75 colonies. A little nosema was detected in spring and almost a third of the colonies tested at the end of the season were infected with nosema to some extent. Not enough of you submitted samples! The next clinic will be on Saturday 31st March 2007. Put it in your diary.

We held a two day health tour in May (the Tour de Reigate!) with our Regional Bee Inspector, Alan Byham and our new Seasonal Bee Inspector, David Rudland. 75 colonies were inspected in 16 apiaries. Fortunately nothing dreadful was discovered although there was a lot of chalk brood and it was clear that some members are somewhat 'optimistic' about their levels of varroa. This is an annual event and next year we plan to target the beekeepers we did not see this time.

Alan Byham led a bee disease recognition day on 8th July, ably assisted by David Rudland. We had the opportunity to see frames infected with AFB and EFB in a carefully controlled bee-proof environment at the home of one of our new members, Tanya Demaine. In the afternoon we had a practical demonstration of the correct way to examine a colony for disease, including new techniques for spotting small hive beetle and we tested a colony for pyrethroid resistance (still negative). The event was open to other divisions and we were pleased to welcome several visitors. We are very grateful to Alan and David for all the time they have spent this season assisting our members.

Shows
Our 2005 Honey Fair continued the run of excellence from new beekeepers. Derek Ready won the novices class and took the Reigate Cup for most points in the show! Entries were excellent in quality and quantity and many visitors expressed an interest in beekeeping.

This year we were responsible for the information stand at the Surrey County Show. Our members were also out in force to help with stewarding tasks at the South of England Show. Audrey Gill is show secretary for both of these events and for our local Honey Fair. This is a huge task but is only one of the many contributions Audrey makes to beekeeping in Surrey. We also attended a number of local shows to promote beekeeping, including the young farmers Cowpie Rally, Bay Pond, Godstone Fair, Surrey Butterfly Show, Holmwood, Leigh, Newdigate and Mickleham. Many thanks to Mike Hill for coordinating these and to all who helped.

In October we were invited, by The National Trust, to mount an exhibition at the Polesden Lacey Apple Weekend. Despite inclement weather, approximately 2,500 people visited Polesden Lacey during the weekend and most of them visited our stand. It was an excellent opportunity to present bees and beekeeping to the public in a positive light. Shows are very important, both as a public relations exercise and as a rich source of potential new members (and as an outlet for our honey!).

Several of our members exhibited at the National Honey Show and I am delighted to report that Angela Merritt and I came away with some silverware.

Finally, in November, it is our pleasure to be hosts for the Surrey County AGM. This will be held at Reigate Park Church, Park Lane East, Reigate, on 25th November. Many thanks to Angela Merritt for organising this event. Clive de Bruyn will be the guest speaker and all are welcome.

Meetings Programme
We have held regular monthly meetings during the winter season at Woodhatch, covering a variety of subjects. Richard Danpure started the year in grand style with his enthusiastic talk on making mead. Not content with this, he founded the Reigate Beekeepers Mead Club. Demi-johns are bubbling all over the area! We had visits from nationally acclaimed speakers such as Margaret Johnson who shared her expertise on wax for show. A full winter programme of meetings is arranged for the coming season.

Our early season lunch was well attended and is proving a popular event. This year we were pleased to welcome Peter Bashford as our guest. Peter was our judge at the 2005 Honey Fair and worked so diligently that he missed his lunch on the day! We ended the summer season with a party at the Stepping Stones in Westhumble. The Stepping Stones has become our regular 'watering hole' after summer meetings and we are grateful to Sharon Norminton and her husband for making us so welcome there.
Our summer 'socials' included a splendid barbeque organised by Alec and Pearl Bourhill in August. Thanks to both of you for your hospitality.

Swarm Control
This year we had 20 swarm calls and 40 false alarms. The swarms came late, the first in late May and the last on 13th September! Swarm collection is an important service to the public. It is a chance to educate, reassure and present beekeeping in a positive manner. It is a 'drop everything and come now' job and can be very time consuming. No charge is made but there have been a number of donations to division funds. Yet again, Richard Woodhouse and Eddie Webster have performed this role with great success. Eddie has worked tirelessly to find colonies for those who requested them and I think everyone was accommodated by the end of the season. Thanks to both of you for all your efforts.

Farmers Market
Eddie Webster and Richard Woodhouse, ably assisted by Malcolm Broatch, Cyril Humphries and other members have attended 15 markets throughout the year. Regrettably our team was forced to leave their usual pitch in Reigate early this year due to changes in market management policy. The Farmers Market at Dorking was home for most of the summer but I am happy to report that, following a review of policy, we have now returned to our rightful place in Reigate. This is good news as average sales in Reigate have been in the region of 70lbs to 80lbs plus sundry hive products whereas, in Dorking, they were half of that. Also, a local presence allows Eddie and Richard more opportunity to publicise our division and activities.

Library
Paul Cleaver has taken on the job of librarian with enthusiasm and there have been a good a number of book loans, some new acquisitions and some gifts during the year. A book list was posted at Mickleham during the summer and can now be seen on our website. You will have also noticed the regular reviews Paul writes for our newsletter (also available on our website). Thanks Paul for all the hard work. We would like to build the library so that it becomes a first class resource for members. Please let Paul know if there is a book you would like to borrow or if you would like to suggest a book we should purchase for the collection.

Premises
Whilst we are very happy with our location at Mickleham and our two 'out' apiaries, it remains our long term aim to find a freehold site and your committee has considered several locations in the course of the year. We will continue to research possibilities and will consult the membership if a suitable site is identified.

Newsletter
Once again, Audrey Gill and Mike Hill have done a great job producing the newsletter each month. The words of wisdom we receive from Maurice Field are always well received. Thanks to you all and to those who have contributed articles. As with all publications, the newsletter is hungry for content. If you would like to write a few words or submit an interesting picture, Audrey would be pleased to hear from you.

Website
Many thanks to Peter Ashley for maintaining our website (www.reigate.demon.co.uk). We have links to our site from a variety of locations and Pete would be glad to hear from you if you have any interesting comments or photographs. Email peter@reigate.demon.co.uk

Summary
Reigate division has had another successful year, thanks to our growing and enthusiastic membership. We can always achieve more if members come forward to offer their time and expertise. If you have ideas or suggestions for next season, please tell a committee member.
Finally I would like to thank all the committee members who have given so much of their time to make the division a success. Particular thanks to Alec Bourhill for maintaining our accounts, Angela Merritt for the enormous amount of 'behind the scenes' administration and Andrew Buchanan for transforming our equipment and bee sheds.

Bob Maurer November 2006