Spring Convention 2015

[itma]

Usual story really - if it's not near london then it shouldn't happen - blow anyone else unless they live in the south East.
...

Not really.
If you live South AND East of London, you do start to wonder whether these things happen in the Midlands because that is "local" to the organisers (as it sure ain't for me!)

I wouldn't mind it being further away some years if just occasionally it could be a bit closer ...

 

[Tremyfro]

Have you seen the Jamie Ellis presentation on YouTube (National Honey Show)? He didn't seem to think it was such a big deal...yet I was beside myself when I was counting varroa and I saw what looked like a SHB larva crawling across the sticky board (3 pairs of legs...what looked like horns at the posterior end).....then I remembered I was looking down a microscope at 20* magnification! I'm not sure what it was but it was transparent, not like a waxmoth larva. I wish I had more time to do more microscopy...there is so much more crawling around on the bottom of a beehive than most people ever see.
I've seen Keith Delaplane talk on this subject a long time ago. I'm not sure that I followed his point at the time. I think you have to be ready to receive the message sometimes....and if you aren't ready to hear it (perhaps because of educational background or whatever reason) the message is lost. Yet, if you hear the same thing after studying some more, the penny drops and you see things in a new light. Does this make sense? Thats how I feel anyway.

That's makes so much sense. When a new subject is introduced.....I take in the basics...after a time...I can see more detail....and then later I start to anticipate and 'see' what is happening....even later I am able to make judgements.
Learning is fascinating. I really enjoyed my first experience of the Spring Convention...even though we only looked at the Trade Show. We talked to lots of people. We travelled 3 hours from Cardiff. It was worth it. Next year we will stay over to take in some workshops and lectures too.

 

[Toffeesmum]

Shropshire is MIDDLE/west of UK not north and BEAUTIFUL too!

Having read the comments, I am proud that the BBKA spring conference is held in our beautiful county of Shropshire. It's easy to access from many corners of the UK via M6/M54 link.

I was a steward at the event on Friday and loved every minute. I didn't want to go home (11 miles) away. Next year, please let me know and I can suggest many places to stay and/or visit whilst you're here. Make a mini-holiday of it.

 

[Pete D]

My wife and I travelled 150 miles or so Friday evening to allow me a full day on Saturday whilst she went shopping in Shrewsbury.
Did wax exchange with Maisemoore, picked up some preordered stuff and had a wander around the trade halls before my first talk. Spent the rest of the day in and out of the trade halls and talks, had lunch and nice ice cream in the sun.

To me the trade show was disappointing but on reflection it is an education conference over 3 days with a bit of a trade sale during half of it which help offset the costs. I hope the trade did well enough to offset their costs.
Tradex is closer to me and is growing in strength and attracting the trade, to me it's worth visiting and I will continue to go, it also helps that it is earlier in the beekeeping season.

I will continue to attend the conference too but probably every other year, same as the NHS.
It's about value for me, travelodge £30, diesel £40, food and beer for 2 £50, entry ticket £17, just me.

 

[Edwardking]

I did the Scanning Electron Microscope course on bee body parts - absolutely brilliant - great teacher, great fellow beekeepers (the course has a max of 5 participants). The BBKA should run more of these sessions so others can have a go.

 

[MuswellMetro]

My wife and I travelled 150 miles or so Friday evening to allow me a full day on Saturday whilst she went shopping in Shrewsbury.
Did wax exchange with Maisemoore, picked up some preordered stuff and had a wander around the trade halls before my first talk. Spent the rest of the day in and out of the trade halls and talks, had lunch and nice ice cream in the sun.

To me the trade show was disappointing but on reflection it is an education conference over 3 days with a bit of a trade sale during half of it which help offset the costs. I hope the trade did well enough to offset their costs.
Tradex is closer to me and is growing in strength and attracting the trade, to me it's worth visiting and I will continue to go, it also helps that it is earlier in the beekeeping season.

I will continue to attend the conference too but probably every other year, same as the NHS.
It's about value for me, travelodge £30, diesel £40, food and beer for 2 £50, entry ticket £17, just me.

i will attend beetradex every year as it is a better time of year for me becasue the Harper Adams weekend is too late for swarm control at my apairies (Hertfordshire near the M25). i will attend harper adam probalby every other year or one in three years just for the lectures but only stay over one night not three

why ? well this Thursday to Saturday 50% of my colonies had charged queen cells and it has been the same clash of Beekeeping versus going to BBKA spring event over the last few years which meant that i lost too many swarms the first year i went to Harper adams

For me distance is not the issue it is time of year. It is right in the middle of OSR flowering here, spring is ealier than the BBKA thinks it is . I go to Nat Honey Show lectures as well that according to tomtom take 1hr 5m and is a 28miles drives but if i drive there on a friday morning or evening rush hour that can take three to four hours which is less time than it takes me to get to harper adams

but at least the NHS lectures I miss are online ,unlike the BBKA event lectures but then there are no sales offer at the NHS ,it is all full price stuff

 

[domino]

This was the first time I went and generally I had a great time. The location is lovely and my drive up from London wasn't too bad either side of Birmingham which is always little bothersome.

I only really have two minor gripes:

1. I don't think I'll be staying on site again, my room had random hot water and wasn't that comfortable. For an extra fiver I could have booked into a decent chain hotel 10 minutes away. I would have missed out on the very nice bacon and sausage Harper's put on for breakfast but I think it's a price I'll be paying next time and will sleep off site.

2. I wished they could either video or repeat some of the lectures. I don't think it would be a major overhead to record the talks and play them back the spare rooms; they could always give the recordings back the presenters at the end of the weekend.

I'll be going again it was good fun, the ice cream van was nice as well.

 

[BeeJayBee]

, I am proud that the BBKA spring conference is held in our beautiful county of Shropshire.

It would be nice for the BBKA to encourage venues in other counties to host the Spring convention.

 

[user 6228]

Just got back, shattered.
First a talk at the Leeds School of Mechanical Engineering on Tuesday then at the Spring Convention today. I attended the full conference. There were some very good speakers on very interesting subjects... particualry on DWV viruses and the advantages for a Queen mating 30+ times.
My own audience was much arger than JBM had led me to expect and didnt give me a hard time. On the contrary they were very much on board.

The questions lasted for an hour afterwards!!!


Overall reaction on the week:

Mechanical Engineers dont understand bees but are facinated. They understand the physics and think the heat flow is obvious.

a third of the bee academics find the heat flow ideas and how they affect bees difficult /obscure/surprising

Most beekeepers get it pretty quickly.

DWV viruses are not simplly viruses from varroa that kill bees.
queen mating strategies have some deep maths in them.