Pennine
Productions -- details of
"The Bee Inspector (3): autumn"
"The Bee Inspector (3): autumn"
Date:
Time:
Duration:
Presenter:
Producer:
Repeat date:
Repeat time:
Description:
Pennine
Productions -- details of "The Bee Inspector (3): autumn" |
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| Network: | Radio 4 | |
Date: |
Sunday, February 16, 2003 | |
Time: |
14:45 | |
Duration: |
15 | |
Presenter: |
David Kemp | |
Producer: |
Mike Hally | |
Repeat date: |
Wednesday, April 16, 2003 | |
Repeat time: |
13:45 | |
Description:
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Who do you call when your bees stop buzzing or the honey goes off? Why, the Bee Inspector of course. He may be the man from the Ministry, but David Kemp is the saviour of many a bee-keeper. What?s more he?s full of fascinating facts about these extraordinary little creatures and he has that rare gift of conveying his enthusiasm in everyday language. You don?t have to own a bee suit to enjoy this series!This 4-part series follows David through the seasons, from spring, through summer, autumn and winter. And along the way we learn something of his full life from keeping bees as a boy, then gamekeeper, forester, and eventually finding his vocation as a bee inspector. He explains how bee-keeping has reflected the changing nature of the British countryside. Before the war farming was in the doldrums, but ?bad farming was good bee-keeping? ? overgrown hedges, abundant wild-flowers and the like assured plentiful honey crops. Intensive farming after the war was terrible for bees, but they were save in the late sixties when flowery crops like the vivid yellow rapeseed became popular. And now lush suburban gardens attract well-fed bees!The first programme finds David in the spring, checking how well bee colonies have survived the winter and looking for the first signs of disease as the days get warmer. One of the highlights is a trip to Hodsock Priory, most famous for its spectacular display of snowdrops in February, but also home of rare, beautifully-preserved and working Victorian bee-hives. Designed like little houses, unlike the modern functional box hive, the most striking is a white tower, with a genuine gold-leafed portico for bees to come and go through. ?If I was a bee, that?s where I would want to live? says David.The second part is summer-time, with a round of County Shows to add to the numerous individual inspections. David is joined by seasonal bee officers to share the load, but its still a very busy time. Bad weather keeps the growing colonies inside their hives until, like mischievous children on a rainy day, they break out and swarm in places they?re not wanted.By the autumn, programme three, the inspections are winding down, though there are fears that a major outbreak of disease in the midlands may spread north. David still keeps bees and takes the opportunity to harvest his own honey.Winter is a time of consolidation. A chance to go round the bee-keeping groups, advising them how to keep their colonies alive through the winter, and how to watch out for disease next spring. And highlight of this final programme is a rare chance to go inside the Government?s Central Science Unit at York, home of the specialist bee research unit. David is a regular visitor, but access for this programme is something rather special. | |
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