I Delayed Princess Anne's Helicopter Talking About Bees | Ep 2

A Cheshire barber kept Princess Anne's helicopter waiting because he would not stop talking about bees.Dave Curbishley has cut hair in Northwich for 57 years and kept honeybees for about 30, and was one of the first in Cheshire to sit the British Beekeepers Association basic assessment.Tom Holland gives him an unhurried hour: how a haircut turned into a beehive inside a week, why a thousand pound weekend course does not make you a beekeeper, what happened when a Wirral beekeeper was accused of smuggling Australian honey, and the winter that killed six of his eight colonies. We check every number afterwards, including the ones the host got wrong.*IN THIS EPISODE*👑 The Royal Cheshire County Show chat that put a royal helicopter behind schedule💷 A thousand pounds for two days, against Dave's three years of Sunday afternoons🍯 Why more manuka honey is sold here than New Zealand actually produces🔬 The eucalyptus honey that got a beekeeper investigated, and the garden that explained it🐝 Six hives out of eight lost in one winter, and the mite outliving its own treatments*CHAPTERS*00:00 One of the first qualified beekeepers in Cheshire01:49 Fifty seven years as a barber in Northwich03:25 How a haircut turned into a beehive in the garden04:59 Learning beekeeping properly, three years with a mentor08:58 The two day beekeeping course that cost a thousand pounds14:03 Bee stings, anaphylaxis and venom immunotherapy19:55 Queen cells, swarming and how to prevent it23:05 Delaying Princess Anne's helicopter at the Royal Cheshire Show28:15 Local honey, hay fever and the manuka problem29:35 Pound a jar supermarket honey that never saw a hive40:31 Losing hives over winter and the varroa mite47:44 Importing queens and Britain's native black bee52:47 Honey in the pyramids and the eucalyptus investigation1:10:50 What you can do this weekend for bees*THE GUEST*Dave Curbishley, barber and beekeeper, Rudheath, NorthwichRestore Habitat UK, charity 1209108: https://www.restorehabitat.uk*WHAT YOU CAN DO*Dave's answer was the cheapest in the episode. Plant flowers, any flowers, and leave a shallow dish of water out with pebbles so bees can drink without drowning. And find a mentor before you buy a hive.Cheshire Beekeepers Association: https://www.cheshirebka.co.ukBritish Beekeepers Association: https://www.bbka.org.uk*SOURCES AND FURTHER READING*We check the numbers our guests use, and say so when we cannot.VERIFIED. More manuka is sold than made. UK sales alone have been reported as exceeding global manuka production: https://www.foodnavigator.com/Article/2013/08/26/Fake-honey-UK-manuka-sales-alone-outstrip-entire-global-production/CORRECTION. Dave's hunch on resistance was right, and bigger than he knew. Researchers traced the worst bee die off in US history to miticide resistant varroa carrying deformed wing virus: https://www.dvm360.com/view/usda-pinpoints-cause-of-recent-mass-honeybee-collapsePART RIGHT. Sealed honey keeps almost indefinitely, but the still edible 3,000 year old tomb honey story is folklore, not a documented test. A hive centre runs about 34 to 35 degrees celsius, and only while there is brood to warm, not all year round.*ABOUT THE SHOW*Fields, Forests and a Fun Guy is a UK conservation podcast hosted by Tom Holland. Nature Uncensored. An unhurried hour with the people doing the work.*FOLLOW*Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/fieldsforestsandafunguy/Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/FieldsForestsandaFunGuyTikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@fieldsforestsandafunguyX: https://x.com/FieldsforestsFGYouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@FieldsForestsandaFunGuy*A NOTE ON BALANCE*This show hosts people who disagree with each other. Views expressed by guests are their own. If we have got something wrong, tell us and we will correct it.