Local Shows
Members of the Society often attend local shows and meetings to help raise awareness of bees and beekeeping. We have a 'virtual hive' which enables people to have a clear view of the interior of a hive and the bees, without any of the worries of being stung!
Details of forthcoming meetings, where members might be willing to help or where members of the public might be interested to talk to us, will be listed in this section.
f you are organising an event and would like to enquire about the possibility of us attending, please contact the Secretary.
Forthcoming shows
2022 National Honey Show at Sandown Park: 27st - 29th October 2022
Recent shows:
The 115th Royal Windsor Rose & Horticultural Society Flower Show - 11th June 2022
Following is an update from Jim Cooper on the SWMBKS stand at the Windsor Flower Show:
The 115th Royal Windsor Rose & Horticultural Society Flower Show was held at a new location; The York Club in the heart of Windsor Great Park on Saturday 11th June 2022. Setting up was completed by myself and Don Church the previous evening. We were able to leave most of the show equipment inside the erected gazebo as there was security on site over night. I arrived at 08:30 hrs on the Saturday to complete setting up and was joined by the first shift of volunteers at 09:00hrs. This consisted of Don Church and Mike & Faye Fulton (new beekeepers and Society members from Windsor). Access was easy as the show director (Alex Denman) kindly gave us a few extra car passes and exhibitor wrist bands. The show was opened by HRH The Countess of Wessex at 10:00 hrs. Unfortunately the royal party didn't visit our stand and so forfeited the gift of a presentation case of Windsor Great Park honey that I had prepared! Alex Denman was also given a case at the end of the day to thank her for her organisation of the show and the extra passes she provided us with.
At first we thought that our stand was rather out on a limb and that we wouldn't attract much attention. How wrong we were as within minutes we were engaged with talking to the public about beekeeping and selling honey. We were next to the ice-cream stand which probably helped draw in the crowds on what proved to be a glorious summer day!
We put on a good educational display and I took my daughters' bee suits which are lilac and yellow in colour and hung them off the corners of the gazebo to make a more colourful and eye catching stand. The virtual hive was placed out front on a low table and proved to be as useful as ever in demonstrating and answering questions. Don also brought along his skep and I had a smoker and hive tool displayed as well. We had a selection of BBKA pamphlets and SWMBKS documents available and I bolstered the display boards with some of my photos. We also had the presentation printed out that Niels our Chairman had prepared.
The second shift clocked on at 12:00 - 15:00 hrs and consisted of Phil Taylor, Nick Garratt and Joss Jones & myself. I had set up a Whats App group to enable communication between our volunteers and to help effect the handover of car passes and exhibitor wrist bands. This worked well and no one had problems parking or gaining access. Stand visitors came thick and fast and we were all engaged in talking to the public and helping to educate them about bees and honey.
The third shift was from 15:00 - 18:00 hrs and was myself and Natasha Warner (a newer Society member from Maidenhead). We were kept busy up until about the last hour when I was finally able to sit down for 5 minutes and have my packed lunch at 17:30hrs!
Estimated footfall at the show was around 4,000 so it is now much larger than when held previously at St. George's School grounds. The flower show committee are trying to raise the bar and make the show bigger and better and it did have a number of stands from horticultural companies that had also exhibited at Chelsea a few weeks prior.
In addition to inform visitors about honeybees, the stand volunteers were also able to sell their honey. Mike & Faye brought some of their first ever honey crop for sale. Nick Garrett also brought honey from his Maidenhead Riverside apiary. I had a selection of my honey available from my different apiaries and sales were in general very good. Unsurprisingly most show visitors were local to Windsor and that was the honey most in demand.
I would like to conclude by thanking all the above volunteers for their assistance in manning the stand and in setting up and taking down. Also a thank you to Simon Jagger for his continued provision of secure storage for the Society's equipment. All our volunteers enjoyed the day and helped fulfil one of the Society's objectives of educating the public about bees and beekeeping.
Members of the Society often attend local shows and meetings to help raise awareness of bees and beekeeping. We have a 'virtual hive' which enables people to have a clear view of the interior of a hive and the bees, without any of the worries of being stung!
Details of forthcoming meetings, where members might be willing to help or where members of the public might be interested to talk to us, will be listed in this section.
f you are organising an event and would like to enquire about the possibility of us attending, please contact the Secretary.
Forthcoming shows
2022 National Honey Show at Sandown Park: 27st - 29th October 2022
Recent shows:
The 115th Royal Windsor Rose & Horticultural Society Flower Show - 11th June 2022
Following is an update from Jim Cooper on the SWMBKS stand at the Windsor Flower Show:
The 115th Royal Windsor Rose & Horticultural Society Flower Show was held at a new location; The York Club in the heart of Windsor Great Park on Saturday 11th June 2022. Setting up was completed by myself and Don Church the previous evening. We were able to leave most of the show equipment inside the erected gazebo as there was security on site over night. I arrived at 08:30 hrs on the Saturday to complete setting up and was joined by the first shift of volunteers at 09:00hrs. This consisted of Don Church and Mike & Faye Fulton (new beekeepers and Society members from Windsor). Access was easy as the show director (Alex Denman) kindly gave us a few extra car passes and exhibitor wrist bands. The show was opened by HRH The Countess of Wessex at 10:00 hrs. Unfortunately the royal party didn't visit our stand and so forfeited the gift of a presentation case of Windsor Great Park honey that I had prepared! Alex Denman was also given a case at the end of the day to thank her for her organisation of the show and the extra passes she provided us with.
At first we thought that our stand was rather out on a limb and that we wouldn't attract much attention. How wrong we were as within minutes we were engaged with talking to the public about beekeeping and selling honey. We were next to the ice-cream stand which probably helped draw in the crowds on what proved to be a glorious summer day!
We put on a good educational display and I took my daughters' bee suits which are lilac and yellow in colour and hung them off the corners of the gazebo to make a more colourful and eye catching stand. The virtual hive was placed out front on a low table and proved to be as useful as ever in demonstrating and answering questions. Don also brought along his skep and I had a smoker and hive tool displayed as well. We had a selection of BBKA pamphlets and SWMBKS documents available and I bolstered the display boards with some of my photos. We also had the presentation printed out that Niels our Chairman had prepared.
The second shift clocked on at 12:00 - 15:00 hrs and consisted of Phil Taylor, Nick Garratt and Joss Jones & myself. I had set up a Whats App group to enable communication between our volunteers and to help effect the handover of car passes and exhibitor wrist bands. This worked well and no one had problems parking or gaining access. Stand visitors came thick and fast and we were all engaged in talking to the public and helping to educate them about bees and honey.
The third shift was from 15:00 - 18:00 hrs and was myself and Natasha Warner (a newer Society member from Maidenhead). We were kept busy up until about the last hour when I was finally able to sit down for 5 minutes and have my packed lunch at 17:30hrs!
Estimated footfall at the show was around 4,000 so it is now much larger than when held previously at St. George's School grounds. The flower show committee are trying to raise the bar and make the show bigger and better and it did have a number of stands from horticultural companies that had also exhibited at Chelsea a few weeks prior.
In addition to inform visitors about honeybees, the stand volunteers were also able to sell their honey. Mike & Faye brought some of their first ever honey crop for sale. Nick Garrett also brought honey from his Maidenhead Riverside apiary. I had a selection of my honey available from my different apiaries and sales were in general very good. Unsurprisingly most show visitors were local to Windsor and that was the honey most in demand.
I would like to conclude by thanking all the above volunteers for their assistance in manning the stand and in setting up and taking down. Also a thank you to Simon Jagger for his continued provision of secure storage for the Society's equipment. All our volunteers enjoyed the day and helped fulfil one of the Society's objectives of educating the public about bees and beekeeping.