Beekeeping......oh my........what have I done?

I am 30 years old, I have been married for 3 years and am a new father to a fantastic little boy. Surely there things that I should be doing at this age which don’t involve little yellow and black insects that can hurt you if you get too close to them or are remotely clumsy (which at 6ft 5 I have an amazing ability to be). My wife things I am loosing my mind, my little boy looks at me rather strangely when I say I won’t be able to do bathtime this evening as I have my evening class on beekeeping. My mother blames my father for these sorts of ideas (he is after all a Morris Dancer) and my colleagues think I have just simply lost the plot.

It is therefore surely not a surprise to you all that I often reflect on precisely what it is that I am doing! If I am honest I cannot really remember what it was that sparked my interest in bees this year. I could focus primarily on the plight of the honey bee so often quoted this year in the press and last. Sadly the honey bee is in trouble and is dying out in increasing numbers all over the world (with the exception of Australia surprisingly) to mystery illnesses. I could also focus on the fact that I am increasingly becoming fascinated in elements of the self sufficient lifestyle and therefore love gardening and growing vegetables on the allotment (I know, I know, I am only 30 years old!). The old romantic in my however has idealistic notions of taking my little boy up to the allotment and each Saturday going to check the bees with him just to teach him about the world and where everything that ends up on his plate comes from. I really hope this day comes though and my idealistic thoughts turn into reality.

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