Author Archives: Emily Scott

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About Emily Scott

I am a UK beekeeper who has recently moved from London to windswept, wet Cornwall. I first started keeping bees in the Ealing Beekeepers Association’s local apiary in 2008, when I created this blog as a record for myself of my various beekeeping related disasters and - hopefully! - future successes.

Food from the Sky

Posted on June 24, 2012 by Emily Scott

This week I went on a work related trip to the innovative ‘Food from the Sky‘ project in Crouch End, north London. The project grows fruit and veg on the rooftop of Thornton’s Budgens supermarket; the food they grow then … Continue reading →

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The lost British summer

Posted on June 17, 2012 by Emily Scott

A lot of British beekeepers must be feeling pretty fed up right now. After a few days of glorious sunshine, the rain and winds returned. My aunt’s house in Aberystwyth (Wales) was flooded after days of endless rain, so she was … Continue reading →

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Honeybee Management exam feedback

Posted on June 11, 2012 by Emily Scott

I applied to receive exam feedback from the British Beekeepers Association on my Module 1 ‘Honeybee Management‘ exam. Even though I passed I like to do this because it’s a chance to get comments from super-insightful expert beekeepers. This year … Continue reading →

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Two hives become one… and then two again!

Posted on June 10, 2012 by Emily Scott

In my last post on Queen Neroli, our new Jubilee Queen, we had just combined our two hives, because one of the hives was weak and queenless. Yesterday we checked up on how the combining process had gone. Would our … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | 24 Comments

Book review – ‘Travels in Blood and Honey: Becoming a beekeeper in Kosovo’ by Elizabeth Gowing

Posted on June 5, 2012 by Emily Scott

Recently I visited Albania, which is one of the Balkan countries. As Elizabeth Gowing explains in her book ‘Travels in Blood and Honey: Becoming a beekeeper in Kosovo‘, in Turkish, bal means ‘honey’ and kan means ‘blood’.  “The story, almost … Continue reading →

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Long live Queen Neroli, our Jubilee Queen

Posted on June 3, 2012 by Emily Scott

I went to Albania and a lot happened while I was away! Our naughty queen Lavender decided to swarm when our backs were turned. And Emma had to put Queen Myrrh to rest and give her hive a new queen … Continue reading →

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National Bee Unit Varroa Workshop – Part 4 – The enchanted garden

Posted on May 18, 2012 by Emily Scott

After our day of workshops on the evil little varroa mite, Emma and I were itching for a chance to catch the last rays of sunshine in the Roots & Shoots garden, a horticultural training centre for young disadvantaged students. We … Continue reading →

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National Bee Unit Varroa Workshop – Part 3 – Honeybee viruses

Posted on May 17, 2012 by Emily Scott

Part three in this series of posts about the varroa workshops given by National Bee Unit inspectors at a special training day last Sunday. After lunch, sitting outside in the sunshine of the gorgeous Roots & Shoots garden, we went back inside … Continue reading →

Posted in Disease prevention | Tagged , | 8 Comments

National Bee Unit Varroa Workshop – Part 2 – practical apiary session with Caroline Washington

Posted on May 16, 2012 by Emily Scott

A follow-up post from my one yesterday, ‘Varroa – Know your Enemy‘, about the series of workshops on varroa given by National Bee Unit inspectors this Sunday. After Alan’s talk to all of us on the life-cycle of the varroa … Continue reading →

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National Bee Unit Varroa Workshop – Part 1 – “Know your enemy”

Posted on May 15, 2012 by Emily Scott

On Sunday Emma and I went to a ‘Varroa Workshop’ themed day held by the London Beekeepers Association, in conjunction with inspectors from the National Bee Unit. The Unit’s inspectors spend their working lives giving beekeeping training, checking for disease … Continue reading →

Posted in Disease prevention, Uncategorized | Tagged , | 12 Comments