Are all associations affiliated to BBKA?

[Brosville]

Trouble is, they can do loads of damage in a short period of time - it may cost us bees as a species - that simple!
We have to act now, and decisively - this is not about the colour of the curtains, this is about the survival of a beloved and incredibly valuable species
- they can call me any name they like, but as a point of principle, they can stuff support for agrochemical companies.....(I'll leave the rest to your lurid imagination). What they are doing isn't a little bit wrong, it is monstrously, horribly, barking bonkers wrong, and it needs to be stopped in it's tracks!

 

[Jenxy]

So, I'm guessing from the answers here then that there are no Hampshire associations that are not affiliated to BBKA... is that right?
Bit of a shame really, as I really would like to benefit from the knowledge that other experienced keepers have acccumilated. This is a brilliant forum, but it would have been great to be able to interact with others on a face to face basis..

 

[Brosville]

Why not try an open and honest approach to a local association? - say exactly what you've said to us here - I think you may be pleasantly surprised at their reaction - if enough of us say we want to join the local association, but choose to be exempt the political levy, who knows what changes that may bring?
From my experience of local associations, I think they're a very important part of British Beekeeping - just such a crying shame that a few toxic and brainless "suits" continue to take advantage of their good nature, and desire for a quiet life............

 

[Jenxy]

I will email the secretary of my local association and let you know what the reply is..

 

[roche]

The BDI insurance is available to any beekeeping association - it is a seperate entity from the BBKA. If this forum formed itself into an association and administered the collection of BDI subscription, then that would be perfectly valid.

As far as the endorsement issue is concerned, endorsements should be bestowed, not sold. What the BBKA seem to have missed entirely is that by accepting any money for the endorsement, they have sold the integrity of the organisation. And that is without taking into account the products that they chose to endorse.

In terms of the three year moratiorium against voting on the issue, there are ways around that. I would appreciate any ADM delegates who voted against the continued endorsement to contact me via this forum.

Roche

 

[Brosville]

Excellent! Wise words indeed......... And welcome to the board!

 

[Chris B]

I would appreciate any ADM delegates who voted against the continued endorsement to contact me via this forum.

You might be able to get the list from BBKA if you ask nicely. The votes were written down for every county that attended, or at least the close votes that you are interested in.

 

[Jenxy]

Ok Broswell... I tried the honesty aproach, explaining that I did want to become a member but had reservations due to the BBKA affiliation and their links to Bayer etc.
I did receive a lovely reply from the lady which explained that they too had their reservations about the link, apparently the county held a vote whether to support the BBKA and the vote was carried because most people abstained.
She then explained that as no rep was present, their postal "no" vote was note counted...WTF?
Pardon I french, but how can that be????
She suggested that I email the membership secretary to see if their is a way round joining without part of the fee going to BBKA, but she very much doubts there is.
So there you go,it is a real shame because as a beginner, it is important I glean as much info as possible from others with experience, especially with regards to keeping on top of pests and diseases... but to do so, means I have to contribute to something I disagree with.... what a quandry. I feel quite glum now

 

[Jenxy]

Look... so glum I didn't even get your name right.... sos.... you can call me jinxy if you like

 

[Brosville]

Don't be glum - see what happens with the membership secretary!
No worries about the name, I nicked it from a French Village..........
If enough of us ask these awkward questions...
- I see a lot of the reply you got as actually rather positive - it shows that the only way they carried this travesty was intimidation, threats, fiddles, prevarication, obfuscation, lying, cheating and swindling...........
Where'd I put my tumbril?

 

[Hivemaker.]

Agree don't be glum Jenxy.
Bros, don't you think your being rather over polite about your choice of words for the bbka EC, but of course its a public forum,so its best to be nice. They used to be a good organisation, and cared about what was best for bee's and beekeepers,now they have more interest in which is the best pesticide to kill the bee's,and could not care less about the beekeepers.

 

[Jenxy]

Hey Brosville.... don't sugar-coat it... say it as it is..

 

[Brosville]

This really is farcical - if it weren't so bloody tragic, it would be worthy of Brian Rix at his trouser-dropping best....... Whoever you speak to in the associations confirms that it was bulldozered through by a small coterie, taking advantage of the gently comatose members - smacked botty time all round!

 

[Hivemaker.]

I think perhaps you have to be permanently comotosed to remain or become a member of that. As it is at this time.

 

[Jenxy]

I just found the BBKA forum, was gonna have a look see if anything on there would be informative... All the threads are private unless you sign up.. ( which I won't) so not very beginner friendly..

 

[Hombre]

Jenxy,
Sign up and read. Most of the posters here still post there also. You can cut yourself off from the wealth of information posted there if you choose to, but few people would actually describe that as a really smart move. When you elect to adopt a stance on an issue, the very least you owe yourself is to weigh all the evidence and arguments. You can't do that without reading "The Dark Side". Give yourself a week, dig in and enjoy. If you still have a week or more to spare, you could look at the Dave Cushman website for more information in great volume to help your head spin and your eyes go funny from overuse.
Best we all concentrate on the bee keeping and leave the politics to others that feel they are more abreast of the issues.

 

[Brosville]

I tried that - didn't work for me........You rapidly discover that there are vast chunks that have been removed by the thought-police, then you can't find answers to very reasonable questions like "whats this that I've read about Bayer?", and suddenly all hell breaks loose........ one faction accuses you of muck-raking, and "why can't you leave well alone?" - and much tutting and disapproval.
Being someone who's never been frightened to ask questions
(yes, I was that little sod in class with his hand up), I persisted, and ended up being berated by someone who I considered highly immoderate - the slightest thing that any normal member asked that was in the slightest way disapproved of by the Stasi was rapidly censored or removed (often with threats of "banning") - yet for some reason, this incredibly rude and arrogant person could get away with blue murder............... then the penny dropped, he was propounding that he had proved that neonicotinoids COULD NOT in any way be responsible for the problems with bees...... He was highly disparaging of the UK, and how we'd been dependant on the US of A during WW2 (he was a colonial) - I resisted the temptation to riposte with comments about lateness, and proceeded to try to debate with the colonial brick wall.......... then we had the comments like "mouth-breathing, knuckle-dragging environmentalists" - and the final straw were the biblical quotes....... At this point I considered that he deserved a good bang on the beak for bad manners
and made my feelings known in a robust but reasonable in the circumstances manner - following which I received a great many "well done" messages from the otherwise cowed membership of the forum. One of his sycophants suggested that I remove my comments - so I went back and reread what I'd written, came to the conclusion that it was accurate, apposite, and completely to the point, and remarked that I had no intention of altering a word of it........two days later, the stasi struck, and I was summarily ejected! SO, there may possibly be gems of wisdom on there - I never found them, loads pushing the chemical viewpoint, and little else except an atmosphere of deep paranoia ("dare I say this?" for even entirely reasonable questions....)

 

[roche]

"I did receive a lovely reply from the lady which explained that they too had their reservations about the link, apparently the county held a vote whether to support the BBKA and the vote was carried because most people abstained.
She then explained that as no rep was present, their postal "no" vote was note counted..."

Was that the county association had the vote, and the local association (which you had contacted) did not have their vote counted?

Sorry to sound pedantic. It's just that I thought the Hampshire delegate was at the ADM.

 

[gavin]

Hi Jenxy

Hombre is right, give it a go. There is a different attitude to moderation over there and they have got it wrong on more than one occasion, but their intention is to have a serious and reliable source of information. In general it works, though in the process they have alienated a few of the experienced posters there and you will find them often on here instead.

There is just as much feeling against the pesticide endorsement issue over there, it is just that those who can't express their views politely have moved on.

In some ways this forum doesn't seem very representative. There is a strong pro-imports view here for example, and out there amongst ordinary beekeepers in the local associations the view is quite different.

One more reason for trying the other side is, of course, to read the actual posts around the time of Brosville's banning, and see for yourself who is kidding who!

all the best

Gavin

 

[gavin]

Hi Brosville

You haven't talked about bees for a while - are you still hoping to get bees this spring? Already have them?

What about imported queens, and what about near-native types - do you have views on that?

best wishes

Gavin