Paynes, closing?!

[Into the lions den]

Fair enough. Jury's still out for me too on 2 in 1 nucs, though I use BS's as ordinary 6 framers and they're excellent. You're a decent stretch further north than me but I think your forage is better so often an 8 frame would suit me as an intermediate step, and certainly as a double-nuc of 16 frames for overwintering - haven't found anything better for the sheep country here at the start of the Tyne by the tip of the Pennines. Greatly enjoyed both your interview in Steve Donohoe's first book and the foreword in his second - too much to hope you'd ever write down your experiences in the future? I've been told 40k for a mould is standard so if true it'd have to be someone big or someone new with a tonne of start-up to get it going. Vaguely had the thought of trying to crowd-fund collectively with other beekeepers for the Paynes nuc (don't like their hive, sorry)... then I remembered we're beekeepers! We can't agree on anything!

LOL..have no intention of ever boring the pants off the beekeeping world by writing a book.
Oddly Jolanta was very recently approached by a publisher about whether she would consider such a thing.

 

[Rory Fields]

LOL..have no intention of ever boring the pants off the beekeeping world by writing a book.
Oddly Jolanta was very recently approached by a publisher about whether she would consider such a thing.

I think you'd be surprised - beekeeping, for those of us for whom it forms a significant part of our lives, and for whom it serves as window into the natural world and changing countryside practices would snap it up - Willie Robson wrote an excellent (though too brief) Reflections on Beekeeping, and as someone who used to be involved in publishing and the book world, I think a lot of literary agents would agree, and a lot of readers would really enjoy hearing how the industry and the countryside and farming have changed during your time, as well as some of the more esoteric beekeeper specific stuff ofc. If we don't write these histories down, they're lost within two generations - a lady I know is an academic at Newcastle specialising in Oral History (no snickering at the back children!) and I know from my own uncle, born in 1929, he was a natural raconteur and I absolutely LOVE remembering all his stories and all he taught me about wildlife and the land. People like you and Willie are living encyclopaedias, and we'd do well to listen and be able to learn from you. It's a great shame Peter Little hasn't got some of his wisdom written down - I hope Jolanta seizes the opportunity.

 

[Erichalfbee]

Go on Murray....Rory speaks a lot of sense.

 

[Aneebe]

I think you'd be surprised - beekeeping, for those of us for whom it forms a significant part of our lives, and for whom it serves as window into the natural world and changing countryside practices would snap it up - Willie Robson wrote an excellent (though too brief) Reflections on Beekeeping, and as someone who used to be involved in publishing and the book world, I think a lot of literary agents would agree, and a lot of readers would really enjoy hearing how the industry and the countryside and farming have changed during your time, as well as some of the more esoteric beekeeper specific stuff ofc. If we don't write these histories down, they're lost within two generations - a lady I know is an academic at Newcastle specialising in Oral History (no snickering at the back children!) and I know from my own uncle, born in 1929, he was a natural raconteur and I absolutely LOVE remembering all his stories and all he taught me about wildlife and the land. People like you and Willie are living encyclopaedias, and we'd do well to listen and be able to learn from you. It's a great shame Peter Little hasn't got some of his wisdom written down - I hope Jolanta seizes the opportunity.

Well said. Think of the Xmas present sales.

 

[Erichalfbee]

I think we might even let @Into the lions den advertise free

 

[Into the lions den]

LOL..you can all try as hard as you like......I have a very large bee farm to run and despite my age never stop having ideas and ambitions....becoming an author and the time that would take as I go through long periods of writing block...............even for a little thing like writing a foreword...means it would take two lifetimes to write...even a chapter on swarm control would be a book on its own.

 

[Into the lions den]

Having enough 'fun' writing stuff for the website...which edges closer and closer to launching. I would far rather have my head in a beehive.

 

[Rory Fields]

LOL..you can all try as hard as you like......I have a very large bee farm to run and despite my age never stop having ideas and ambitions....becoming an author and the time that would take as I go through long periods of writing block...............even for a little thing like writing a foreword...means it would take two lifetimes to write...even a chapter on swarm control would be a book on its own.

That's why we're prepared to wait until you retire ;-) We're v understanding and patient. I'm sure Steve Donohoe would help you with putting it together. Would love Mike Palmer to do the same. Tired of reading the same old BBKA party-line stuff that's just Hooper censored and regurgitated. Enjoyed Rawson's book (minus his poetry), but there's precious little lived experience beefarmer books. Even the late Kim Flottum's on the subject is a collection of generalisations.

 

[rolande]

That's why we're prepared to wait until you retire ;-) We're v understanding and patient. I'm sure Steve Donohoe would help you with putting it together. Would love Mike Palmer to do the same. Tired of reading the same old BBKA party-line stuff that's just Hooper censored and regurgitated. Enjoyed Rawson's book (minus his poetry), but there's precious little lived experience beefarmer books. Even the late Kim Flottum's on the subject is a collection of generalisations.

The John Rawson book would have benefitted greatly from some serious editing/organising. I've got to say that biographies are the only bee books (apart from the occasional specialist subject volume) that I really bother with these days.

Bill McKibbens 'Oil and Honey' makes for a good read.

 

[Into the lions den]

That's why we're prepared to wait until you retire ;-) We're v understanding and patient. I'm sure Steve Donohoe would help you with putting it together. Would love Mike Palmer to do the same. Tired of reading the same old BBKA party-line stuff that's just Hooper censored and regurgitated. Enjoyed Rawson's book (minus his poetry), but there's precious little lived experience beefarmer books. Even the late Kim Flottum's on the subject is a collection of generalisations.

LOL...whats this 'retire' word? In my thesaurus it equates to being in a box and the lid being screwed down. I'd rather repair and wax frames non stop for years after my family kick me out of the apiaries for making annoying interjections....

and I think Steve Donohoe has had enough of writing bee books!