The last term of our honey year started 14 September with the SBA Convention hosted by us – the ADBKA – and a wonderful contribution by our committee members that helped to make the day such a success.

The speakers were Dara Kilmartin, who is a consultant eye surgeon and retinal specialist as well as a beekeeper, and Tony Harris (NDB), a bee farmer from Morayshire who most of us know well. Dara gave two talks on bee vision, and bee nutrition; whereas Tony gave practical advice on maximising the honey harvest and taking bees to the heather.

Part of the success of the conference was due to the mingling of beekeepers from all over Scotland during the breaks and the quiz organised by ADBKA the previous evening.

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On 12 October we had our 2019 Honey Show. As judge, we were fortunate to have Enid Brown, who is also the Director of Beekeeping Awards for Apimondia and an SBA Trustee. The star of the day was our president, Sandy Gordon, who handed over the trophies with great care and attention to each winner – and there were many, as listed below.

The Thorne Trophy – Most points in the show – Joan Gilbert-Stevens
The A.S.C.D. Trophy – Best exhibit in the show – Joan Gilbert-Stevens
The John Cooper Cup – Best exhibit of cut-comb honey – Joan Gilbert-Stevens
The President’s Trophy – Best exhibit of liquid light honey – Alison Goss
The Bill MacKenzie Quaich – Best exhibit of liquid ling heather – Graham Torrie
The Henry Simpson Trophy – Best exhibit in medium/dark honey – Rhian & Crawford Anderson
The Anne C. Beddie Trophy – Best exhibit in the beeswax class – Joan Gilbert-Stevens
MTM Construction Shield – Best exhibit in liquid light honey – Alison Goss
The Captain Manson Trophy – Most points in the industrial class -Clara Shepherd
The David Pert Memorial Prize – Best exhibit in the handicraft class – Hazel Christie
S. C. Rae Memorial Trophy – Best frame in the show – John Macaulay
John D. Walker Memorial Trophy – Best exhibit of soft-set honey – Tom Gullan
Jim Tocher Trophy – Most points in the novice class – Steve Waites
ADBKA Shield – Best exhibit in the junior class – Sophie Breeman

[Header photo of Sophie Breeman and Sandy Gordon]

Read more about the honey show in the November newsletter.

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At the beginning of November Kate Atchley gave an informative talk entitled Pollens through the Season, illustrated with her own photos of pollen she has collected, or found in her own honey. Based on her experience, she also gave a lot of practical advice on collecting pollen, mounting slides, and using a centrifuge.

Read more about Kate’s visit in the December newsletter.

And finally, as the last event of the year, David Evans gave a talk called Measure twice, cut once, swear often with a lot of information and examples on how we can create some beekeeping necessities at a low cost, and without fancy tools.

Look out for Jamie’s piece about David’s visit in our next newsletter, and visit David’s website, the Apiarist, for a wealth of information – not only on DIY, but on other aspects of beekeeping, particularly Varroa control.

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