Back in the day they used to put honey in cans rather than jars, and the picture shows a very young David Kemp sealing the lids on with the old canning machine. Thanks to Andy Wattam for getting the photo to me.
Here is a brief section from my 2017 interview with the legendary David Kemp who was the assistant to Brother Adam at Buckfast Abbey in the 1960s. We were in a pub, so please excuse the clinks of glasses and other background sounds. I think this gives a delightful window into the life of a beekeeper in a bygone age, much of it to do with queen rearing and grafting. I hope you enjoy it.
We’ve see these tins… Hareth Baker a bee farmer in the wye valley cleared out an ex-beekeepers shed a few years back and he still had lots of the tins full of honey.
Do you know if he still has any?!
Yes he does. The honey is no longer edible unfortunately. I should have said Gareth Baker….. fat fingers getting the better of me! He’s in Wye Valley Apiaries.