I have just completed a Star Wars marathon, which involved watching all of the Star Wars movies and stories in the correct chronological order on Disney+. One film per evening, for eleven straight evenings. In order, they are: The Phantom Menace (George Lucas, 133mins) Attack of the Clones (George Lucas, 142 mins) Revenge of the … Read more
Interviews with Beekeepers was launched in the busy beekeeping season for many and in the middle of a global pandemic. What was I thinking?! It should be available at most online booksellers around the world, theoretically. The normal supply chain from printer to wholesaler to store (online or physical) may be disrupted, due to lock-downs, … Read more
I am no literary academic and don’t know how much of this is true, but it seems that Shakespeare’s life and works were shaped by the plague. This article (go on, click it) suggests that he had a lucky escape as an infant and that several of his plays were imbued with pestilence. He apparently … Read more
I have been keeping a low profile of late because I have a touch of walrus flu. I don’t think it’s anything exciting like that Covid-19, but who knows? A couple of weeks ago I got back from the gym feeling decidedly green about the whiskers, and since then I’ve been a bit off. Given … Read more
I often like to have some theme for my blog posts, but today I’m just writing whatever pops into my head. There are lots of things to say about bees, but after a while, it can get a bit stale. Bees are fascinating insects, and most beekeepers tend to be obsessed with them, but to … Read more
I am excited that my book is currently with the talented Lucy at Carnegie Publishing. She is working on the design and layout, deciding on page sizes, fonts, illustrations, and so forth. She’s nearly done, and from the sample that I have seen it’s going to be beautiful. After that, it’s back to Elaine at … Read more
There are many things in beekeeping which cause furious debate. One part of this, which this demonstrated below, is that different beekeepers deal with different environmental conditions. Here are some extracts from Interviews with Beekeepers on the subject of hive ventilation: Murray McGregor (Perthshire, Scotland) Steve: Another thing that crops up a lot, mainly between … Read more
Obsessions If you asked somebody that knows me well to describe me, they would probably mention my obsessions. I’ve had a few over the years. The biggest one, the one that would have killed me if I hadn’t broken it, was alcohol. Currently, the main one is honey bees. I seem to learn best by … Read more