The Good old days.

[B+.]

I was thinking of how some things have changed over the years this afternoon.

Who can remember buying packs of foundation from Thornes with sheets of tissue paper between each sheet of foundation?

 

[Beefriendly]

Aye...and the only package bees came in skeps...Those were the days

 

[Michael Palmer]

Good old days? Bought it papered from Dadant last year.

 

[enrico]

I used to make my candy by boiling sugar, all floors were solid, farmers used to pay us to put our bees on their crops, Himalayan balsam was everywhere, osr was nowhere, no varroa. Etc etc
E

 

[mickbees23]

Too young to remember

 

[oliver90owner]

Himalayan balsam was everywhere

Really? probably was - in the Himalayas!

 

[enrico]

In the early 80's my local river was full of it, I never fed my bees in autumn because of the amount they would bring in off it. I suppose it depends how far back the good old days were. You were probably keeping bees when I was in a pram!!!

 

[B+.]

I suppose it depends how far back the good old days were. You were probably keeping bees when I was in a pram!!!

About 30 years. I drove to Windsor to collect my first nuc which I kept in my back garden (I wouldn't do that anymore). I also bought all the usual stuff which I suppose comes in a "beginners pack" today. Over the years, I've bought a lot of things that seemed good, only to turn out to be junk.
It seems that there used to be more equipment suppliers (Steele & Brodie, etc) but, looking around on the internet, others have sprung up, so I suppose its about the same.
I've known some well known beekeepers (Dave Cushman, John Atkinson, John Pollard, etc) who are no longer with us. I've learned (and had to unlearn) a lot.
OMG...I must be getting old!

 

[SDM]

. I've learned (and had to unlearn) a lot.
OMG...I must be getting old!

Your not old til you've forgotten more than you remember. That's pretty much the definition of "old age" these days.

 

[masterBK]

I attended (aged 11 yrs) my 1st beekeeping class in september 1958, getting my own bees in 1959 (also passed the BBKA preliminary proficiency cert that year) and have kept bees ever since. Back in the 50's most of the hobby beekeepers, I met, kept bees in WBCs (many painted white or green) and used calico quilts rather than crownboards and fed their bees using a honeyjar with holes in the lids as a contact feeder. The frames used were mainly split tops and I found them difficult to fit with the crimped vertically wired foundation from Taylors (although many wired their own frames). The main arguments back then were about whether to have your frames warm and cold way and between the perople who used National hives (not the modified national) and those who advocated WBCs. Honey typicaly sold for 3 shillings and sixpence a lb (same price as for gallon of petrol). NO bee suits then , most just used a wide brimmed hat with a ring of cotton net with elastic in the end seam to hold it to the hat. Few used double broods.

 

[Buzz 804]

Good old days? Bought it papered from Dadant last year.

Had this handed in last week, all papered as well! appox 1994/5

 

[Michael Palmer]

Ahhh, the good old days. In 1974, package bees were $10.50 and honey was 50 cents a pound.

 

[Lancs Lad]

40 years ago Ivy was unheard of as a nectar source.

 

[B+.]

I attended (aged 11 yrs) my 1st beekeeping class in september 1958, getting my own bees in 1959 (also passed the BBKA preliminary proficiency cert that year) and have kept bees ever since.

Thanks for making me feel better MasterBK. I was born in June 59

 

[B+.]

Had this handed in last week, all papered as well! appox 1994/5

Brilliant!
I bought loads of stuff from S&B!

 

[colinc]

Your not old til you've forgotten more than you remember. That's pretty much the definition of "old age" these days.

I was old at 25 then....


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro

 

[Beecat]

It wasn't all that great. Why, I remember it like it was yesterday.... wait... can't remember that either. Hmph.

Oh yeah I remember now. There we were in the apiary minding our own business (well ok the bee's business, fine then) when they came charging over the horizon, headed straight for us. You don't know the meaning of fear until you been charged by a herd of woolly mammoths, and they weren't bred for docility in those days, let me tell ya. Well me and Og we grabbed our spears and charged 'em right back. Dang critters had never seen such a sight, nor ever heard such whoopin' and a hollerin'. Scared the bejazus out of 'em. Welp they stopped dead in their tracks, swapped ends and hightailed it outta there with me and Og in hot pursuit.

Now that was REAL beekeeping, not like they got nowadays. Cell phones. Bah. Plastic hives. Pfft. I expect they'll be coming up with plastic honey next.

 

[Finman]

.
Pah

Plastic hives or insulated wood box hives save half of winter food. Insulation you know.
In Finland we need only on average 20 kg Winter food per hive.

 

[Ian123]

Those days when men were men a the sheep were nervous and those Finnish girls kept finsky warm all night long and all they had to eat was 20kg of pickled fish

 

[Ian123]

Old boy who I used to help aged 12 got his bees in packages from s&b French and amm I was told. They could seriously give some Africanised bees I dealt with in later years a run for there money. No joke!!!!!