Bees and Me - Deena’s Diary [3]
I am now going to discuss a subject that often gives rise to sniggers and giggles - SEX.
So, here we go -
Urban Beehives Get a Redesign
An international competition wants to figure out how to make beekeeping more accessible to city dwellers by redesigning the beehive. The entrance deadline is November 28, and the organizations involved intend to mass-produce the winning design and install it at sites around the local neighborhoods.
Bee the Cake – JCC Rosh Hashanah Honey Cake Competition Last Wednesday before heading home for Rosh Hashanah celebrations, the JCC ‘Bee the Cake’ competition was held in our offices. Five fine bakers were pitted against each other with the task of cooking the most scrumptious honey cake, using our very own Bee the Change honey. There could be only one winner. With pride and reputation on the line, anxious glances were exchanged as recipes were discussed and the tasting began. Thankfully, a flip-cam was near-by and we’re able to share with you what happened…
‘Honey to the Bee’ - The afternoon after the afternoon before
Thank you so much to everyone who came along to Kentish Town City Farm yesterday. 25 people would have been a great number, but with over 45 people coming along, I was blown away. From families who enjoyed a walk around the farm and tasting the huge variety of different local honey, to representatives of organisations who are looking to host their own hive, everyone got stuck in.
A special thanks goes out to those who made it happen: Mikey from Capital Bee, Barnaby from Urban Bees, Chris from the farm and our very own Deena.
From speaking to everyone it was clear that the ‘Bee the Change’ vision is one that lots of people share. It’s a vision that is inspiring people to come forward and ask how they can become a part of it and drive it forward. I couldn’t ask for more than that!
If you were there, please do let us know what you thought and if you weren’t, get in touch and I’ll make sure you’re in the loop for upcoming events, workshops and courses.
Sol
Bees and Me - Deena’s Diary [2]
Fresh off the press, here is the second installment of Deena’s blog, charting her journey as an unexperianced but enthusiastic bee keeper learning the ropes.Hear her speak in person, by coming along this Sunday to our event, ‘Honey to the Bee’ at Kentish Town City Farm, 2-4.30pm. Family and Friends welcome! Register your place here: http://www.jcclondon.org.uk/our-events/social-action/honey-to-the-bee
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Hullo my honeys (that is a little topical joke!)
Have I piqued your interest in bees yet? Have you gone outside and watched these remarkable creatures going about their business moving from flower to flower stuffing pollen into little pouches on their back legs?
Bee Hive cupcake anyone? Yum! Bee Baking inspiration!
‘Bee the Cake’ Bake-off Competition - Recipies wanted!
To involve the JCC staff in our honey project, Amy (The fantastically titled ‘Executive Assistant to Nick Viner, Chief Executive’) and I wanted to do something fun. Our first thought was to hold a bake off competition! And so on Monday morning the following email went out across the organisation:
“In honour of Rosh Hashanah and our new ‘Bee the Change’ project, on Wednesday 28th September, you have the wonderful opportunity to compete in the JCC’s first ever ‘Bee the Cake’ honey cake competition!
Nerves are running high as pride is at stake. I call on all you honey lovers and enthusiastic cooks out there to ensure my victory (!) by submitting your favourite honey cake recipes! I’m capable of following a straightforward set of instructions, but I’ll have to work with a not too ambitious listof ingredients as my stocks at home are shockingly low.
Please either comment to this post or email me at solomon@jcclondon.org.uk
Wish me luck and I’ll let you know how things turn out!
There is one rule and one rule only…each contender will receive one 120g pot of ‘Bee the Change’ honey, of which you can use as much or as little of the honey as you like, but it’s the only honey you’re allowed to use! The rest…is up to you.
Amy and I will orchestrate (ruthlessly) a blind taste test on the Wednesday September 28th, and the winner will win…HUGE amounts of pride, and a fair dose of resentment from the other cooks.”
Wonderful news!
This morning I went over to Stoke Newington to visit Joseph Schneck and pick up our first batch of ‘Bee the Change’ honey! As we work towards establishing new hives for the 2012 season, we’re connecting with beekeepers like Joseph to spread his locally produced honey across the community.
We now have 150, 120g filled up honey jar sitting in the JCC office just waiting to be opened for Rosh Hashanah. As you can see from the photo, I couldn’t wait for the professional labels to make their way over…I made a rather amateur attempt with paper and a pritt (…just to get a picture in my head of what the final product will look like)!
Holding something tangable in my hand is an excellent feeling, and being the first person to taste it is even better.
We’ll be selling the honey for £3.50 per jar at our event, ‘Honey to the Bee’! Yet another reason to come along: http://www.jcclondon.org.uk/our-events/social-action/honey-to-the-bee
Bees and Me - Deena’s Diary [1]
This is the first installment of ‘Bees and Me’: a blog through which Deena Kestenbaum (you can see her there in the centre!) reflects on her experiances attending a weekly beekeeping training course at Camley Streen Nature Park in Kings Cross. Through ‘Bees and Me’ we’ll track her progress from being a budding enthusiast with the hope to develop the skills to establish a bee hive in her community…
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Welcome dear readers to my bee blog where I will be sharing with you the highlights of bee world of which, at this moment, I know just a bit, but over the coming weeks will be learning more and more.
So, how is it that I shall know more next week than I do this week?
To kick us off on the Sustainability theme of this project, here is the first quarter of the BBC’s excellent documentary, ‘Who killed the honey bee?’
“Bees are dying in their millions. It is an ecological crisis that threatens to bring global agriculture to a standstill. Introduced by Martha Kearney, this documentary explores the reasons behind the decline of bee colonies across the globe, investigating what might be at the root of this devastation.”
