Watch an interview with the Ellan Vannin Friendly Beekeepers Society at the Royal Manx Agricultural Show 2024

Transcript

00:00My name is Robert Wright. I'm a beekeeper. I have been a beekeeper for about 45

00:05years. We're here at the show today under the umbrella of Ellen Valen friendly

00:11beekeepers. My type of beekeeping is cut comb honey, which is the honey is just

00:21taken out of the hive. It's chopped up and put in boxes. It's very good for hay

00:26fever. It contains pollen and the pollen is also good for hay fever and asthma and

00:33things of that nature. We also have beeswax here and the royal family

00:43actually will only eat comb honey. They actually, lords and ladies, only eat comb

00:50honey. They don't normally eat processed honey because when honey goes into a jar

00:55it is then processed. It's still very good indeed but it has to be warmed and

01:00run through filters and stuff like that and definitely some of the goodness is

01:04lost in that process. So therefore the comb honey is number one. But this year

01:11is very bad for beekeepers and very bad for bees as well because everybody can

01:18see that the weather has been the most inclement for years and also it's very

01:23cold in the mornings and therefore the bees are struggling and the beekeepers

01:28are not getting a good deal of honey unless they're very lucky. But we

01:33still have a bit of honey and life goes on.