vintage beekeeping on TV

[beeboybee]

Hi All, Finally my Beekeeping obsession has come in useful for my work,
I Work as a Art Director in Tv & Film, i have worked on all sorts of stuff, last Tv Drama Was Cilla for ITV, my role very roughly is building the sets.
I am currently working on another Show, But set in 1939 ish,so just before WW2.
There are a few scenes coming up that involve beekeeping, so i have advised the practicalities of filming the scene etc in regards to H&S and time of year, we will be filming in november, so no chance of any hives being opened even if we wanted too!!! the current thinking is to have beekeepers in the background inspecting hives but far enough away so we don't see the fact there are no bee's.

So i need some help, as a beekeeper myself i can not get this wrong for all of us....... should we use WBC hives? the smoker style, should it be longer and more pointy like a few for sale on ebay?, also the bee suits where obviously pretty minimal compared to current types, any suggestions? thinking net over hat type, no gloves......

any thoughts or info would be great....

 

[user 6228]

Hi All, Finally my Beekeeping obsession has come in useful for my work,
I Work as a Art Director in Tv & Film, i have worked on all sorts of stuff, last Tv Drama Was Cilla for ITV, my role very roughly is building the sets.
I am currently working on another Show, But set in 1939 ish,so just before WW2.
There are a few scenes coming up that involve beekeeping, so i have advised the practicalities of filming the scene etc in regards to H&S and time of year, we will be filming in november, so no chance of any hives being opened even if we wanted too!!! the current thinking is to have beekeepers in the background inspecting hives but far enough away so we don't see the fact there are no bee's.

So i need some help, as a beekeeper myself i can not get this wrong for all of us....... should we use WBC hives? the smoker style, should it be longer and more pointy like a few for sale on ebay?, also the bee suits where obviously pretty minimal compared to current types, any suggestions? thinking net over hat type, no gloves......

any thoughts or info would be great....

definitely no matchsticks they are 1947
nationals also can fit the period http://www.dave-cushman.net/bee/hist.html
definitive book [ame="http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/search?index=books&linkCode=qs&keywords=9780415924672"]Amazon.co.uk: 9780415924672: Books[/ame]

 

[Erichalfbee]

Can't seem to post a link on the phone but if you google beekeeping in the thirties there are three videos on youtube

 

[alldigging]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D7F5u7Uqt1U

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YujIjFKMu2s
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GuFE0wUgLFE

 

[Davidrf]

Thanks for those links all digging. Absolutely fascinating watching: so confident and casual - just a trilby for protection! The equipment and methods have hardly changed at all.

 

[Marton]

Great viewing.

The two things which surprised me were the framed QE, I thought it was all pressed zinc, and the soft "crown board", surely a messy method.

 

[Erichalfbee]

Posted here on the forum by polyhive. The youtube one is another persona but the same man

 

[alanf]

There are films made by Barnet beekeepers in the 1930s, first one here

[ame]http://youtube.com/watch?v=902k2HzCO4E[/ame]

As for the other films, there's very little specialised protection kit, face veil over normal street clothes seem the norm.

Probably a lot more local regional variants than there are now. Previous threads here suggest at least some of the bees are in Taylor's Cottager hives. Some records in my association say the first "National" hive arrived in 1938. The "National" frame was around long before the hive in Cottager, WBC, Simplex and several other hives.

 

[pargyle]

Great viewing.

The two things which surprised me were the framed QE, I thought it was all pressed zinc, and the soft "crown board", surely a messy method.

Thanks for those links all digging. Absolutely fascinating watching: so confident and casual - just a trilby for protection! The equipment and methods have hardly changed at all.

My father kept bees in the 1950's and 60's exactly like that - only protection he had was his ex army 'Bombay basha' and a bit of net curtain under it .. nothing much changed in the 30 or 40 years until the 1970s.

The soft 'quilt' is not such a bad thing ... Dad used to use bits of hessian and as I recall the cloth just peeled off the top of the frames ... not in the least bit messy - indeed, from memory, doesn't the warre 'quilt' have a cloth base to it ?

Did you notice the insulation on the top of the frames ? I think it is probably what used to be called 'shag' or 'shoddy' where I come from ... sort of thick felt made out of wool and reclaimed cloth fibres ... must have had about 50mm of it on top of the frames - even in summer - does that sound familiar ?

And what about weighing his hives with the massive tripod and yard ?

They are a grand series of films from days gone by but there's a lot to be learned in the way he handles his bees ... not a lot has changed really .. just a bit of Varroa to contend with now. Fascinating ...

 

[beeboybee]

Amazing links Both Interesting as research and as beekeeper... totally Love the Trilby Hat.

As a 14 x 12 user, does anyone in cheshire area have and empty WBC hives that they would be interested in hiring?

 

[BeeJayBee]

Did you notice the insulation on the top of the frames ? I think it is probably what used to be called 'shag' or 'shoddy' where I come from ... sort of thick felt made out of wool and reclaimed cloth fibres ... must have had about 50mm of it on top of the frames - even in summer - does that sound familiar ?

... not a lot has changed really .. just a bit of Varroa to contend with now. Fascinating ...

Not a matchstick in sight! It looks as if things are going full circle.

 

[MuswellMetro]

Agree not a matchstick in site . My grandfather kept bees in the same way and never took on the" new way " that came the vogue after WW2 and wed mores 1947 book


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[Finno]

I always remember a TV advert that had a model with flowing hair etc. picking daffodils under trees in full summer foliage. So if filming in November, all the eagle-eyed forum members here will immediately spot the wrong season, if trees etc. in background.