Somerton & District Division

Hon. Secretary - Mrs J Mosedale . Tel. 01278 723320 - jackie@jmosedale.wanadoo.co.uk

Programme for 2008

All winter meetings take place at the Parish Rooms, Somerton, and commence at 7.30pm unless otherwise stated. Non- members are always welcome.

BEGINNERS’ BEEKEEPING PRACTICAL CLASSES 2008.

The Somerton Division of the Somerset Beekeepers’ Association would like to invite you to participate in this year’s Beginners’ Practical Beekeeping Classes. The classes will be run on Saturday mornings beginning at 11.00 am and continuing until approximately 1.00 pm.

They will be based at North Wootton Village Hall. The apiary and bees are approximately 150 yards walk from the Hall. In wet weather the classes will go ahead in the Hall even though it may be impossible to open up the hives at the Apiary. There is no charge for this course.

March 29th - Spring Inspection

May 3rd - Swarm prevention and control.

June 7th - . The June Gap.

July 5th. - Diseases.

July 2 th. - Taking the honey.

August 9th. - Honey extraction.

September 13th. - Preparing for winter.

Appropriate protective clothing will be provided but if you already have your own veil then please do bring it along. Please bring a pair of Wellingtons, and a pair of long sleeved gloves if possible, “marigolds” are appropriate. If you have a zip-up anorak then please bring that.

Travel Instructions.

From Wells. Take the A39 Glastonbury road, and after half a mile turn left into Woodford Lane just before Browne’s Nursery. Continue along this road for 2.2 miles. You will then see the North Wootton road signs. Shortly after this you will bear sharply right and enter the rather grandly named High St. The Village Hall with ample off road parking is on the left after a hundred yards or so.

From Glastonbury via the A361. As you approach Pilton you go up a steep hill, the main road turns right, but turn left just before the village shop. Do not turn left between the shop and the pub. Having turned left just before the shop keep on this road and you will eventually drop down into North Wootton passing the large Crossways Pub on your left. Carry straight on and you will pass over a small white painted bridge. Take the next turn on the right and the Village Hall is on your right after approximately fifty yards. For SatNav enthusiasts the postcode of an adjacent house is BA4 4HA.

Further information: - Joe King - Tel. 01749 890357.

May/Jun. - Mock Basic Exam Date and venue tba David Charles

June 21st - Apiary Visit to Jackie Mosedale.

Jun/Jul. - Divisional BBQ Date tba

Jul. - Apiary Visit Evening Event

Aug. - Apiary Visit Evening event

Sat. 27th Sep. - Annual Honey Show

Thu. 9th Oct. - Will Messenger "Bekeeping Heritage"

Thu. 13th Nov. - Glyn Davis "Looking at Eggs"

Thu. 4th Dec. - AGM

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Apiary Visits - Risk Assessment

Anyone organising an apiary meeting or similar event has a duty of care to take the necessary precautions to ensure the safety of those taking part.  Formally this means doing a risk assessment. Most of this is simple commom sense but if there is an incident it is important to be able to show that the risks were assessed and that all reasonable action were taken to minimise them  Somerton Division has developed Risk Assessment and Check List which they use to cover such events.  .  "Click here to view Somerton Assessment and Check List"