What a privilege to meet local resident and beekeeper, Ann Eatwell. Talking to a small but enthusiastic audience Ann explained the importance of bees and one or two interesting facts: such as that bees are used to foraging for 2-3miles away from their hive, and that they perform a ‘waggle dance’ to show the direction of food sources. Apparently the bee dancing upwards means that the food source is towards the sun, downwards and it’s away from the sun. Simple, really. I shall have to watch more closely.

Ann won a competition sponsored by the Co-Operative, who recognised that bees are now doing better in urban areas than in the countryside. Ann supports the bees and nurtures their health, especially during the winter when she cossets them with a sugar solution. She can draw on expert advice from Sussex University, which boasts the only Professor of Beekeeping in the country!  Ann has two hives at JAGS and despite being outnumbered 60,000 to 1, she works with the bees, so neither she nor they feel threatened. Top tip? Smoke makes them fill up with honey and become much more placid, so they are less likely to sting. If all goes according to plan, this summer we could be sampling our first pots of JAGS honey since the war years when beekeeping, rabbit-rearing and vegetable growing was a normal part of the day’s work.

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