Bromley Beekeepers' Association

The last time Bromley members got around to “doing the Basic”, Bob Jackman, Claire Joseph and Mary Slater slid off to Twickenham (TTVBKA) for classes. This August, five Bromley beekeepers got together and prepared themselves for the great ordeal. The result was:-

Mick Coen describing the one that got away with John Hendrie.

Total Success

So, congratulations to:-

Mick Coen
Mike Elliott
Lizzie Forte
Andre Grover
and Jenny Spon-Smith

for a 100% pass rate. That’s slightly better than GCSE.

Taking the BBKA Basic Assessment of Proficiency in Beekeeping involves an hour of hive opening and verbal grilling. How better to spend time at Clive’s apiary? (Thanks for access Clive). To be able to take it you need at least one year’s full beekeeping hands-on experience. Other than that, it’s a good idea to have downloaded the syllabus from the BBKA web site, and to have made sure that you know what’s what. But it does get you to thoroughly ensure that you have grasped the essentials of your chosen craft.

This year’s entrants braved tetchy August bees. A great time to take the basic is in April or May. Then you would have had a whole winter to get your head down, and then you will have a nice, pleasant, small colony to work with. Anyone contemplating entry for 2011 should contact Bob Jackman (link at top of article) a few months before they hope to take the Basic.

Once you have the Basic, a whole new world of husbandry assessments and written module exams is open to you. But it all starts with the Basic.

Bob Jackman