The BeeHolder, April 2011

After lovingly tending their bees and feeding them in the late summer and autumn the members of Montgomeryshire Beekeepers Association took it upon themselves to swarm to Gregynog and feed themselves at their annual dinner and social evening.

No syrup for them; nothing less than a sumptuous and lavish four course meal would suffice for the 60 odd members and guests who were present under the watchful eye of a very capable and humorous MC, Tony Shaw.

Celebrities and others were strategically spread amongst the tables and were introduced by the MC.

Celebrities present were:-

John Bevan, Seasonal Bee Inspector; Charles Miller, Seasonal Bee Inspector; Peter Guthrie, Seasonal Bee Inspector; Karen Armstrong, Warden at Gregynog, (her idea to start an apiary at Gregynog); Steve Griffiths, Gregynog Estate Manager; Mr. & Mrs. Brian Goodwin President of Shrewsbury Flower Show; Paul Edwards, Welsh Oak Frames and supplier of the observation hut for the Gregynog apiary; Graham Winchester host of ‘Who Wants to Nearly Be a Millionaire’ which was conducted during coffee; Jim Crundwell, current president of MBKA; Dennis Cordwell a previous secretary and very capable and innovative beekeeper. (He produced a lot of gadgets, also his cartoons DRAC will go on for ever); Mike Compton, ex member, beekeeper and producer of the BeeHolder.

To the dismay of everyone present, due to plane travel problems, Lembit Opik was unable to join us in person. I say in person because our MC did the next best thing and during coffee we enjoyed Lembit’s presence courtesy of ‘Skype’. He was an even bigger personality on the big screen and members were able to ask him questions which resulted in some witty answers. The banter between Lembit and Tony was much appreciated.

Also during coffee Graham Winchester came into his own and got ‘Who Wants to Nearly Be a Millionaire’ off the ground: this was interspersed with wit and humour. As the game progressed participants fell by the wayside until just one participant (the winner) was left standing, Mrs. Goodwin. As is her nature she made a most generous gesture by donating her winnings to the Gregynog Apiary.

At this point the bar came into its own and everyone was able to mingle and catch up with old friends.

It should not be left unsaid just how nice the room and the setting was with the tables decorated with silver crackers (not the diners!) and the party poppers produced colourful streams of ribbon draped over fellow guests. As one would expect at Gregynog, the table service was super efficient and friendly. In view of the walk from the car park Gregynog Hall even arranged for the rain to keep away. Long live MBKA dinners.

Mike Compton

Thanks for the report, Mike. Please note that plans are afoot for the next Christmas dinner, lightly pencilled in for January 14th 2012 (as Christmas dinners for bee keepers are traditionally held on St Mythelmroyd's Day, or as in this case the nearest Saturday to it). The venue will once again be Gregynog, though we can't guarantee a satellite link with Lembit.

Ed