Meet the Committee

With no experience of beekeeping, I inherited bees from my father 23 years ago. Having started with 2 colonies, I now typically manage 6-10 colonies and over all those years have only lost 2 colonies. I run with WBC hives; much of my equipment is more than 20 years old now (second hand from my father). In April 2015 my son saw the crowdfunding campaign for the FLOW Hive and encouraged me to participate. My FLOW hive was delivered in February 2016 and has been very successful and an amazing way to harvest honey.

I’ve worked in medical research for 4 decades and my background in Biology and Immunology has helped in my understanding of bee biology. Having mentored new local beekeepers, it’s very rewarding sharing skills and experience with others and making new friends. And the club provides such excellent learning; there is always something new to learn about bees for anyone. I enjoy sailing, DIY, gardening and attempt to keep fit. I’m also heavily involved in the village activities of Ley Hill. I feel very privileged to have been asked to be President. If you have any suggestions or comments, please let me know.

I have wanted to keep bees for years but only finally booked a place on the Beginners Course in 2022.  I bought my first colony from a member of the Club in May and by the end of the year I had 3 hives going into winter.

I originally studied law at Cambridge and worked at a city law firm until having children.  I have been a full time mum ever since, re-qualifying as a garden designer as my boys got older and spending as much time outside as I can.  I have met some wonderful people through the club and, even in the short time I have been involved, keeping bees and being on the Committee has proved to be extremely fascinating and rewarding. 

I've kept bees since 2013 and currently have four colonies at two out apiaries. I am experimenting with solid floors and small cell wax foundation to see if this helps the bees to cope with the varroa parasite.

I am a retired computer systems programmer who used to enjoy working on airline reservation systems and mainframe network protocols.  I am also church treasurer and a private pilot.

I originally became interested in bees as my neighbour used to keep them which I found fascinating. On retiring from the City after nearly 20 years in finance I was drawn to finding out more about bees and thus enrolled on the Chalfonts beginners course. Since then it has been a joy working with my bees who made it through their first winter intact.

I currently run my own online education business and perform board director roles. I have two adult children, a cat and a house bunny and I love the esoteric aspect of beekeeping such as using copper dowsing rods for hive placement following research by Veteran Beeks.

I’ve been keeping bees for about 12 years having started with a Beginners course at Chalfonts Beekeepers with my husband.  I have loved every aspect of beekeeping, there is always something new to learn, but the most important thing to know is: bees have not read the text books!  I have always enjoyed being outside and beekeeping is another aspect of this. 

I have recently reduced my work for the NHS and this has given me more time to support the club which has been so supportive of me.

I have been keeping bees for about 15 years.  It all started when I visited the Reigate Beekeepers Association stall at our village flower show, and signed up for the winter beginners course. I then joined the Association, feeling no obligation at that stage to get my own bees but, of course, the pressure mounted as I was asked every week “Have you got bees yet?”, so another member gave me a swarm he had collected and the rest, as they say, is history.

My initial objective was simply to improve the pollination of the small orchard I had planted in my back garden, which was certainly successful, but the additional benefits of having our own honey were soon enjoyed both by us and by family and friends.

I am about half way through the BBKA exam modules and, the more I learn, the more fascinated I become by these wonderful little creatures.  The more I also realise there is still to learn and, having moved to Amersham and joined Chalfonts’ Beekeepers Society just over a year ago, I am looking forward to continuing this shared exploration with my new beekeeping friends of all ages and experience.

I’m a country boy at heart, growing up in the foothills of the Sidlaw Hills just north of Dundee. My grandfather kept bees but they were a mystery to me then and I wasn’t allowed near them. I didn’t get around to keeping bees until 2014 when I was given a Polystyrene Langstroth Hive.

Now all my colonies are in Polystyrene Langstroths and located in my garden. I help run the Beginners Course and most Wednesday and Saturday mornings I can be found at the club’s Beginners' Apiary, fixing, mending or demonstrating some aspect of beekeeping. I enjoy making changes or trying a new process, and love the way that Beekeeping helps you to stay in touch with natural world around you.

I’ve been hooked on wildlife of most kinds all my life and especially so since I retired. My oldest grandson bought me a bee suit for Christmas 2017 after he and his class received an inspiring talk about bees at his school in Ley Hill. That motivated my wife and I to sign up for the Chalfonts beginners’ course. Luckily, we have a large garden and are able to keep our bees at home in Chorleywood and although making all the usual beginner mistakes, I think we’re doing OK! 

I firmly believe that the more people understand honeybees they will also appreciate the plight of our local ecology and hopefully make small adjustments that will make large differences to insect populations and consequent food chains. 

Whilst I'm involved, I hope to help the club continue the existing excellent education programmes and help as many people as possible become informed and to have as much fun with their bees as we do.

I was introduced to bees by an elderly relative when very young and have wanted to keep bees ever since. It was only in 2022 that I enrolled on the Beginners Course. 

My plan was to learn the theory and attend the training apiary during the first season and defer from getting my own bees for at least a year. However, that changed after I purchased a National hive and smoker at the Chalfont Beekeeper’s Auction in May 2022. It was suggested that I set this up as a 'bait' hive to attract a swarm of bees, but warned this was something of a long shot. To my surprise, two days later a small cast swarm had moved in and my rapid learning curve commenced, along with the need to purchase more equipment! By the end of June, after noticing increased bee activity, I set up the bait hive again and two hours later a large swarm had moved in. I had gone from no bees to two colonies within two months! 

During the rest of the season I helped at various fetes and continue to attend the training apiary each Saturday morning. By doing so, I have continued to learn so much and am happy to report that my bees are thriving.

Bio coming soon!