Submission for Gloucestershire Beekeepers Association
Bulletin
Number 196 (February/March/April 2004)
The North Cotswold Branch 1966: The Archers, Strangeways Prison
….and no mention of
the World Cup
The correspondence of Miss York, Secretary of the North Cotswold Branch from 1963 until at least 1970 (the records are not entirely clear when she stood down) is full of humour, warmth and tenacity. Her Secretarial letters of 1966 illustrate this well and I thought GBKA members might find this selection of three both interesting and amusing.
The
Branch and “The Archers”
In September 1966, Miss York wrote a
gently chiding letter to the BBC regarding the absence of beekeeping stories in
“The Archers”. She generously offered the
Corporation the opportunity to use the North Cotswold Branches’ 3rd annual
Honey Show as an opportunity to record “background sounds” for the programme. Miss
York wrote: “Of course I haven’t been able to listen to all your programmes but
in these I have heard no mention of a very, very important facet of country
life – what has happened to your beekeepers? I realise that the programmes try
to cover the important things of the countryside and there are many aspects of
beekeeping equally important – if beekeepers are not encouraged, pollination
will suffer in time to come.
If you are interested we are having a
very small Honey Show and Annual General Meeting on the 24th
September to be held at Aston Magna. We are very much a small Branch….The show
is just about the size one would imagine for Ambridge.”
In his reply, Mr Edward J. Mason talks of
past experience of running beekeeping stories in “The Archers” which supports
the view that we beekeepers have one hundred and one solutions to every
beekeeping challenge!
“Thank you so much for your letter
regarding bee keeping and its mention in “The Archers”. I will raise the matter
again at our next Script Conference but I must say that some years ago John
Tregorran became interested in bee keeping and had a number of hives, which he
looked after himself and which we brought into the programme from time to time.
Although, as always, we took great pains to get our information from the top of
the tree (so far as bee keeping is concerned), John Tregorran’s methods of bee
keeping brought so many controversial letters from all over the country that we
decided to play it down. I don’t keep bees myself but it seems many people have
many different ideas of how they should be kept.”
Memories from the General Secretary of the BBKa.
In March 1966, Miss York wrote to Geoffrey Dixon, General Secretary of the BBKA wishing him well following a period of ill health. In his reflective reply, Mr Dixon writes: “I am very much better these days but alas am not allowed to travel around-the best part of this job-making new friends and meeting bee-keepers all over the country. However, memories remain, for instance the unforgettable day with Mr Fazackerly in Manchester where we had tea in Strangeways Jail, supper in the Z-cars Headquarters by Old Trafford Football Ground and then a talk to 70 enthusiasts at 7pm until I was whisked away at 11.30pm to catch a sleeping car to London!! Wonderful days; wonderful people.”
Don’t forget the dates!
In a February note
to members regarding the poor attendance at winter meetings, Miss York
expresses her “strong disappointment”. Members are advised what to do with the
note detailing the spring meetings.
She writes “Do
NOT throw this note away until you have written down these dates in your diary,
or you can stick this note on to the mirror on your dressing table! We want to see you at these meetings and we
want you to remember the dates”.
Jeremy Voaden
Blockley
December 2003
