Recent newsletters on file for reference.
Dates for your diary.
If you would like to receive all newsletters via email, please email me at bedfordshirehoney@hotmail.co.uk and I will include you on the distribution list.
In this newsletter: Stop Press; Editors Notes; Swarm Control List; Swarm Control Training Day; Members Open Day 30th May; Disease Recognition Training Day; Members Open Day 27th September; Beds BKA Events; Trading Committee News; Training; News from the Apiaries; Other Events; Beds BKA Honey Show; Beds BKA AGM 2010; News including new Seasonal Bee Inspector; Items for Sale/Wanted/Available.
Stop Press: Beds BKA Swarm Control list. Latest list attached.
Members Open Day. 30th May Renhold with Ray Smith
Swarm Control Training Session, Stockwood Apiary, Sunday 7th June 09.
Editors Notes: Library Books/DVD’s etc. A reminder from our Librarian. Can you please return all items from the library promptly. A maximum of 4 weeks is allowed for each item out on loan. Due to the large number of unreturned items, the committee is considering charging for replacements to be purchased.
We have a disabled beekeeper within our membership who currently does not have their own hive. Do you have hard standing and easy access to your hives? If so, can you please contact Ellen Adams to arrange for her to visit your hives. She is based in Luton and her details are in the year book.
I would like to thank Andrew Ullyett for compiling the 2009 Year Book which you should all have received in the post over the last week. It is an excellent production. If you did not receive a copy, please contact Wally Thrale who has spare copies. During the year, if you would like to send any photo’s of beekeeping events (and of bees), plus any articles of interest for the 2010 book, please send them to Andrew Ullyett direct.
Beds BKA Swarm Receivers/Collectors list: Following the briefing of the new Swarm Control process that Andrew Beer and Pat Gavin, I have attached the latest list with your feedback on, and their new process. Please have a look at it, and check all the detail are correct.
As the list is circulated to local authorities, police and published on our website, you do need to be aware that your details will be available to the general public
Swarm Control day At Stockwood Apiary with Peter Tomkins: Sunday 7th June 2009. The session will be in the morning starting around 11. We will not charge for the event. The session should last around a couple of hours and can be included with the normal apiary meeting. All members welcome.
Beds BKA Members Open Day: Saturday 30th May, Ray Smith’s house in Renhold (see Year book for address). 2.30pm start.
Disease Recognition Day – Saturday 13th June 2009.
There has been a lot of news in the press over the last few months about Bee Disease. Bedfordshire are actively involved in several areas, one of which is to educate our members on how to recognise bee disease. The following day has been set up with Andy Wattam (Eastern Region Regional Bee Inspector) and is highly recommended.
Haynes Village Hall, 16, Silver End Road, Haynes, Bedford, MK45 3PP
Saturday 13th June 2009. 10-00am to 4-00pm, Bring a packed lunch, Tea/coffee provided
All participants to 'book a place' with:
Mr. Andy Wattam, Central Science Laboratory, NBU - Eastern Region R.B.I,
Willow House, 4,Lincoln Road, Bassingham. Lincolnshire. LN5 9HE, Office Telephone:
Note - Andy Wattam has also sent details of a ‘Disease Co-ordinators training workshop’. This is a 2 day event to be held in July at the National Bee Unit. There are very limited places, and are for experienced beekeepers only. Please contact Sue Lang for further details.
Beds BKA Open Day – September 27th. Shefford Apiary – Setting up the hives for winter. More details in July newsletter.
Beds BKA Events: Bedfordshire Beekeepers are going to be present at the following events this year. If you would like to volunteer to man the stand, please contact the named organiser.
Bedford Museum Open Day: Saturday 20th June 09. Contact Wally Thrale.
Beds County Show, Shuttleworth: 11th/12th July. Contact Ray Smith.
Wrest Park Craft Festival: 29th/30th/31st August 09. Contact Wally Thrale.
Woodworks! Marston Moretaine. 12th/13th September 09. Contact Wally Thrale
Apple Day, Bromham. Sunday 18th October. Contact Wally Thrale.
Trading Committee News:
Hive Clean. From Martin & Sue Cross. This product has sold well and as it is a newly stocked product for the Association the committee felt it would be good to have some feedback throughout the year from members who are using this product. We would like to know what members feel about ease of use whichever size they bought and also how effective it is throughout the year, plus any problems they had with their bees which they feel maybe attributable to Hive Clean.
If they want to e-mail, write or phone us with their feedback then we will report on them to future committee/trading committee meetings plus in future newsletters.
Extractors Available: Beds Beekeepers have purchased a number of small extractors for members to borrow. There is no charge, but the extractors must be returned clean and in good condition. They are located with the following people:
Gill Sentinella – Luton. Wally Thrale – Sandy. Simon Cockle – Aspley Guise. John Dawson – Ickwell. Chris Jenkins – Dunstable. Ray Smith – Renhold.
The latest price list is also attached.(on MEMBERS PAGE)
Wax Trading: We require more wax to cover the cost of the foundation purchased for the AGM and during the summer. By trading in wax, we can keep the cost of foundation down for all members. We pay up to £1.30/lb for clean wax. Please contact Richard Smith or your local trading member (see price list for these details).
Training
Skep Making Day in September with Ray Smith. Places will be limited. Please contact Ray direct on
Food Hygiene Basic Certificate. A course is being held on 30th May at the Cross Keys pub in Cranfield. Cost is £35 plus VAT, payable on the day. It is recommended that you hold this certificate if you wish to do honey tasting at shows and events. Please let Sue Lang know if you would like to do this course.
Microscopy Training: Andy Johnston is considering setting up a Microscopy course for disease recognition in late August/early September. If you are interested in doing this, can you please let Andy know so we can get a view on numbers. Contact Andy on
News from the Apiaries:
Turvey: We have now completed the work to change over all the diseased brood frames for the Nosema affected hives at Turvey. The plan is to allow the hives to build up whilst the OSR is still in flower, and then arrange the move to the new Shefford site. If you would like to come along on a Sunday morning to gain experience in handling bees, please contact Sue Lang.
Stockwood: Mike Niemann and Gill Sentinella are planning a series of beginners ‘Introduction Days’ at the Stockwood Apiary. Please contact Mike or Gill for more details.
Other Events:
Lynch Furlong Community Nature Reserve, Oakley – Celebration BBQ and Picnic. Saturday 7th June. The organisers would like to have Beds Beekeepers at this event, but the regular contact is not available this year. If you would like to have a small stand to talk about beekeeping, and sell some of your honey, please contact Wally Thrale for more details.
Bedfordia Open Day – Saturday 7th June. Volunteers are needed for a Beds BKA stand being run by Richard Smith between 11 and 4.30pm. Please contact Richard direct if you would like to help out.
Harlington Lower School is having an open day on Saturday 13th June. If you would like to have a stall there, please contact Gaynor Brundle at gebrundle@aol.com for more details.
Beds BKA Honey Show: Saturday 19th September 09. The judge is Fiona Dickson from Thetford. Stewards are required, please Contact David Smith if you would like to volunteer. There are 3 new trophies in 2009 in memory of past members. Alan Sunman – Best Mead in Show (Classes 16&17). Ian Beaty – Craft 3 items (Class 18). Lew Ellison – Cake (Class 3). The 2008 rules have been attached as guidance – the full 2009 rules will be in the July newsletter.
Beds BKA AGM 2010 – Saturday 27th February 2010, Flitwick Village Hall.
News:
Our New Seasonal Bee Inspector is now fully operational. He will cover West Hertfordshire and Bedfordshire.
Mr Peter Folge, 85 Carvers Croft, Woolmer Green, Knebworth, Hertfordshire
SG3 6LX , Tel:
Peter is available for 4 days only, so if unavailable and the situation is urgent please contact Andy Wattam.
Bees in the media (Thanks to Ed Thomas for sending this through).
British Tourist attacked by Swarm in French Art Gallery.
Paul Walton sent through these links to online videos:
C 1746 - Instrumental Insemination of Queen Bees
http://www.iwf.de/iwf/res/mkat/metafiles/02000017460220000000_hi.asx
C1801 - Rearing of Queen Bees
http://www.iwf.de/iwf/res/mkat/metafiles/02000018010220000000_hi.asx
C 1896 - Beekeeping by Rotation System
http://www.iwf.de/iwf/res/mkat/metafiles/02000018960220000000_hi.asx
C13136 - Selection of Honeybees (Honey Yield & Behaviour)
http://www.iwf.de/iwf/res/mkat/metafiles/02000131360220000000_hi.asx
Traditional Beeswax Pressing
http://www.iwf.de/iwf/res/mkat/metafiles/04000026610220000000_hi.asx
For Sale/Wanted/Available etc.
Available – Long garden in Biggleswade suitable to site one hive. Please contact Denise Cooper-Kiddle on
Just a few notes that need to be circulated before the next newsletter (due mid March).
Beds BKA Annual General Meeting. Saturday 28th February, 10.30am start.
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Please pre-order your lunch with Val Hill/Andy Johnston before the day.
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Wax exchange - we need 500lb in weight to pay for our Foundation Wax order. Don't forget to bring yours along on the day.
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There will be a raffle on the day - any donations of prizes are welcome.
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Donations of sweet/savoury items for afternoon tea are also welcome.
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If you have any interesting beekeeping items you would like to display please bring them along.
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The Beds BKA trade stand will be available on the day with our usual range of items.
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Reminder from the Librarian - please bring back any books/DVD's that you have out of loan.
"Bees and the Law". Beds BKA talk, Thursday 26th March, 1930 hours start. Maulden Church Hall. Andrew Beer will be doing the talk. All members welcome.
Beds BKA Swarm Receivers/Collectors list:
Andrew Beer and Pat Gavin have been re-vamping the process for Swarm Collecting. I have attached the current list, and their new process. Please have a look at it, and let Pat and/or Andrew know if you would like to be involved in 2009. They need to know the following:
Name, contact number(s), Receiver or Collector or both of Swarms, When you are available (any time, evening, weekend etc).
As the list is circulated to local authorities, police and published on our website, you do need to be aware that your details will be available to the general public. Both Andrew and Pat will be at the AGM if you wish to talk to them more about how the scheme works.
Swarm Control day At Stockwood Apiary with Peter Tomkins: Sunday 7th June 2009
The session will be in the morning starting around 11. We will not charge for the event. The session should last around a couple of hours and can be included with the normal apiary meeting. All members welcome.
Schools Packs:
A number of these are going to be purchased (DVD version). If you are approached by a local school for support material please let Wally know and we can pass a number of these on.
New stockist:
Steve Kennedy is taking over as Jars stockists from Angel Huelamo in the south of the county. Thank you Angel for your support over the years, and welcome to Steve. A new price and stockists list will be available in the March newsletter along with Steve's contact details.
For Sale:
Colonies on one brood chamber for sale; £90 each, subject to availability. Orders dealt with in rotation. Ready in April, in time for the rape, if weather allows. Ready for collection, strapped and screened; box, screen, strap and foam closer to be returned within 7 days. Tel:
From BBKA web site:
Loads of hives, supers, floors, roofs etc for sale retiring beekeeper selling off most equipment. East Cornwall
North Herts Meeting:
"I wonder if any Beds Beekeepers from the Hertfordshire side of the county would be interested in coming to our next meeting which is on Tuesday February 17th at 7.30.
Judy Pell, Juliet Osborn and their Phd student from Rothamstead will be giving a talk / update on their bee-related projects including pollination, Varroa research and the effects of parasites on the behaviour of bees.
We meet at Howgills in Letchworth (42. Southview, SG6 3JJ ) Phone me for directions if needed (
North Bucks News:
North Bucks Beginners courses start on 12th March, £45 per person. Contact Chris Jay on
Eureka Moments in Beekeeping a talk by Ian Homer at Rectory Cottages, Wednesday 18th February at 7.30 p.m. This talk is not to be missed. Ian's knowledge, expertise and style of delivery will hold your full attention. Ian has been our Regional Bee Inspector for many years. Following a heart attack last July he has decided to retire; sadly for us, this will be his last talk to NBBKA. Contact Elizabeth Parsons on
BEDFORDSHIRE BEEKEEPERS ASSOCIATION
Feb. 2009 Newsletter
In this newsletter:
The Association welcomes copy (in any format) for the newsletters.
The next newsletter will be published in March 2009.
The closing date for copy is 28th February 2009.
The Association's preference is to send newsletters by email where possible. If you have been receiving them by snail mail in the past, but would like to start getting them by email each time, please email me using the address below.
Editor:
Sue Lang
154a Lower Shelton Road
Upper Shelton, Marston Moretaine Beds. MK43 0LS
Sue.lang@inbev.co.uk
Tel:
Fax: 01234 764359
Stop Press:
Subs are due from 1st January.
AGM is on Saturday 28th February.
Special Sizes and Large orders of wax foundation must be with Sue Cross by Saturday 31st January latest.
Editors Notes
It was great to see so many people at the Christmas Social at The Club, Cranfield University on 5th December. It was an excellent end to our year. Thanks to everyone who brought along raffle prizes. Thanks also to everyone who gave a talk on Thursday 22nd January at our 'DIY' evening. I'm sorry I wasn't there, but I heard it was very 'cosy' with over 80 people attending.
Obituaries.
We were very sad to hear about the loss of Betty Goseltine, a long standing member in the Dunstable district who passed away before Christmas. Also, John Kinns who had just started beekeeping in 2008 who passed away in mid December. Our thoughts are with their families and friends.
Subscriptions
This is a reminder that 2009 subs are due from 1st January 2009. Please send your completed form and remittance(s) to Fiona Cook (address on the form). Thank you. If you wish to get BeeCraft and/or Beekeepers Quarterly through the association your subs form must be into Fiona by the AGM.
2008 Year Book
If you have any articles/photo's for the 2009 year book, please send them to Andrew Ullyett
andrew.ulyett@ntlworld.com
by the end of January 2009.
Open Days and Association Events
Beds BKA Annual General Meeting:
This will be held on Saturday 28th February 2009 at Flitwick Village Hall starting at 1030 hours. The afternoon Speaker will be Ged Marshall starting at 1400 hours. Please find attached a document prepared by the committee about some proposed changes to the Association's Constitution and Rules.
Please also read the Programme sheet - there are details on there about how to order lunch (which cannot be ordered on the day) and the various attractions available on the day.
Please remember to bring along any good quality wax which you can exchange for cash or spend at the Association Trading Stand. We pay £1.30 per lb. By being able to trade wax as a credit against our foundation order, we keep the prices of all foundation to a very low level for the whole association.
Martin and Sue Cross (Trading Committee - Foundation) have asked me to remind everyone that if you wish to pre-order any special size foundation and any large orders (over 10 packs of any size) to do so ASAP. Please order these by Sunday 1st February latest.
Don Waterhouse is running the second hand stall again. Please ensure your name and item price are clearly labelled on all items you wish to bring along.
Ray Smith will be bringing along the Association's library of books/dvds and videos. If you have any on loan to you at the moment, please ensure they are returned on the day.
Trading Stand - Hive Clean.
This is a relatively new product to the market for Varroa Control, and has been used successfully by some local bee farmers. We are planning for it to be a new stock line with the Trading Committee. If you are interested in purchasing some it is available in single does (approx 80p) or bottles for about 25 hives (for approx £14.50). Please confirm your interest to Martin/Sue Cross and they will order some in time for the AGM.
Beds BKA at local shows/events:
Local Brownies and Guide groups are having a 'Buzzing in Beds' focus in February 2008.
Most people requesting time from beekeepers to give a talk are going through Wally Thrale our publicity officer and secretary. Wally is running out of volunteers though. If you are prepared to do any of these short talks, can you please let Wally know you are interested.
Bedford Museum Observation Hive.
A note from Wally Thrale.
"A few years ago Bedford Museum had an observation hive installed. It was a popular attraction for the museum but was taken out in 2007 as there were problems monitoring the hive due to lack of resource. It appears that the museum would like to re-instate the observation hive following a recent meeting that I attended. The museum will ask if any member of staff would like to learn beekeeping and, if so, a place would be made available on one of the courses next spring. This would help with monitoring of the hive but more experienced beekeepers are also needed to provide support. I am looking for about three members (myself included) whom the museum could call upon at short notice to deal with swarming, lack of food etc. If you visit Bedford town centre regularly (so that you can keep an eye on the hive's progress) or you can provide support please let me know. It would be great to see bees in the museum again".
Beds BKA Talks and Member events:
Thursday March 26th Beds BKA member Andrew Beer will be doing a talk on 'Bees and the Law', 1930 hours, Maulden Church Hall.
'Swarm Control' Practical Session. Sunday 7th June 2009. Peter Tomkins is going to lead a session at the Stockwood Apiary on this very important subject.
More details will be in the May newsletter.
Members Open Days. If you would like to volunteer your Apiary for an open day in 2008, please contact Andy Johnston on
Training.
Beginners Beekeeping Courses are starting at the beginning of March in both Bedford and Luton. If you haven't confirmed your place, please contact Wally Thrale direct on w.thrale@ntlworld.com or
General News Items
Bee Funding:
The following article was published on the DEFRA web site on 21st January - very welcome news following all the pressure put onto the government over recent months: http://www.defra.gov.uk/news/latest/2009/animal-0121.htm Page published: 21 January 2009
"£4.3 million bee health funding increase announced
An extra £4.3 million to safeguard and undertake more research into the health of bees was announced by Environment Secretary Hilary Benn today in a speech at the Royal Society of Chemistry.
Mr Benn said that nearly £2.3 million over the next two years would support the work of the National Bee Unit in its efforts to help England's beekeepers deal with the problems facing their bee colonies.
This will include identifying all those who keep bees and providing expert advice to them on tackling pests and diseases and applying good husbandry.
In addition, Defra will put an extra £400,000 towards bee health research every year for the next five years. This extra funding - a total of £2 million - forms part of a comprehensive bee health strategy, which is under development.
Over the last two years Britain's bee colonies have suffered significant losses due to a combination of potential issues including the weather, the varroa mite, and other factors requiring further investigation by researchers.
Mr Benn said: "Bees are vulnerable to a number of threats. Pests and diseases, when combined with poor summers can leave colonies unable to survive the winter.
"We must get to grips with this, to see just how serious a problem it is, what the impacts on pollination are, and what we can do in response".
Seasonal Bee Inspector - Lindsay Samford.
This was received from Andy Wattam (Regional Bee Inspector) just after the November newsletter was published.
"I wish to inform you for your County Newsletters that Seasonal Bee Inspector Lindsay Sampford - who has worked in Eastern Region since 1999 has decided to hang up his smoker and veil and retire from the Bee Inspection Service.Lindsay has covered the areas of Cambridgeshire, North Bedfordshire and Suffolk West Including Ipswich over those years. He will be sadly missed by us all in the Eastern Region Inspection Team. Lindsay's SBI Post will be advertised in due course in the usual Beekeeping Periodicals, Press and via the NBU Website and I will advise you all when this happens".
In the Apiary:
Colin Hall has asked me the question about 'when do woodpeckers stop damaging hives during the winter'?
From personal experience in our garden it started on New Years Day and finished on 2nd January!! I haven't heard from anyone else, but the trick for us was a large roll of chicken wire around the hive.
Don't forget to get a new pen for marking your Queens. The colour for 2009 is Green.
Ged Marshall Queens - a note from Wally Thrale ( Please contact Wally direct if you want to take advantage of this offer).
"This season we will be ordering queens from Ged Marshall again. When we buy 10 or more we can buy them at the reduced price of £23. When bought singly they are £26. So if we group together and order a minimum of 10 queens we obtain the lower price. The scheme will operate as in previous years whereby orders are placed with me with a cheque made out to 'BHP Ltd'. The cheques are not cashed until just before the queens are posted. Ged informs me the queens should be available from June onwards (probably mid June). He will despatch 10 per week until he has met the total order. So if you wish to take advantage of this you need to be able to take delivery from mid June to end July. You will receive a few days notice from me of the date the queens will be delivered to me (normally a Friday morning). They then need to be collected from late Friday afternoon onwards. I do try to adjust delivery dates if possible but if you are given a date then you are committed to collect at that point. I cannot hold queens for any length of time. If you have not introduced queens before please see the article in the 2008 Yearbook for a method. If introduction is not carried out carefully the receiving colony may kill the new queen. We will be placing an order with Ged at the AGM as he normally has a waiting list. If you order after the AGM you will be placed at the end of the queue and probably receive the queens in the second half of July".
Borage at Moulsoe (near J14 M1).
Chris Springer will be planting Borage again in 2009, and has asked me to coordinate anyone wishing to bring hives over. In 2008 they had trouble with gypsies on the site, and need to restrict down how many people access the site. He would prefer people with 5 or more hives to be on site, as this will keep down the number of vehicles using the farm tracks. Please let me know by early June if you would like site hives and how many. It will be first come first served.
Other Events - Local and National
Cambridgeshire BKA are having a day of talks again. This was attended by several Beds members last year and was very interesting. This years event is on Saturday March 14th, costs £15 and will cover the following subjects:
Raising Docile Bees, Reaction to stings. Bee immunity to viruses, Beekeeping system with honey production and 'support' colonies. Send cheques payable to 'Cambridgeshire Beekeepers Association' to
David Abson, 6 Ascham lane, Whittlesford, Cambridge. CB22 4NT.
National Honey Show.
New Beekeepers get Free Entry into the National Honey Show in their first year of beekeeping. They will write to you direct in August with ticket details. If you would not like your details passed on to them, please let Fiona Cook know by or at the AGM. They are also doing a special deal for first time exhibitors and those who have not shown for over 10 years with free entry for the first 4 classes entered this year. The show is on 29/30/31 October 2009, at St Georges College, Weybridge, Surrey.Beds
BKA Website
Just a reminder of the web site address. http://www.bedfordshirebeekeepers.org.uk
The password for the members area is arthuraskey (all one word, in lower case). Please send me any longer articles of interest that are too big for the newsletter.
For Sale:
David Cook is giving up keeping bees and has some hives (£60) and supers with frames (£12) for sale. He also has an apiary site available. Please contact him direct for any of these on
Apartment Available for Rent in La Heradurra in southern Spain.
Member Melanie Goldsmith has offered the following apartment to rent with a 20% discount off prices for all Beds BKA members and their families. Contact details www.melaniegoldsmith.co.uk, email designer.bird@virign.net Mob: 07786470750. "Moroccan influenced apartment in the old Town in the fishing village of La Heradurra in southern Spain. Two Minutes from the beach, 1 - 11/2 hours to Granada and excellent Skiing in Sierra Nevada. Locally: scuba diving, walking, boating, surfing, good tapas bars, bus service, 1 nightclub! 3 And 2 bed-roomed apartments, sleeps 6 and 4 or whole house sleeps 10. Wood fires, for winter evenings. Micro climate: lots of sunshine, situated within a protected area of outstanding beauty, very 'Spanish" - in the Provence of Granada. Malaga or Granada airports: (from Stansted or Luton). Melanie is offering 20% off all bookings for BBKA members and their families". Ensure you mention on the booking form you are a member.
Wanted:
From Ed Thomas. Honey in 30lb buckets. Please e-mail edward.daniel.thomas@btinternet.com or ring
Wanted:
Beginner member Claire Regan is interested in setting up with WBC hives. If you have one for sale, please contact her on vcregan@hotmail.com or
Free Plans for 5/6 frame nuc. Martin Cross found this link which may be of interest to you. http://s64.photobucket.com/albums/h187/adamsm/Nucs/
News from North Bucks BKA.
Please contact Elizabeth Parsons on
Friday 30th January - AN UPDATE OF COLONY COLLAPSE DISORDER by Norman Carreck hosted by the High Wycombe Beekeepers' Association 7.30 p.m. at the "Environmental Centre", Bassetbury Lane, High Wycombe HP11 1QX (adjacent Holywell Mead swimming pool on The Rye) Contact: Ken Gorman
Thursday 12th February - An invitation by The Coop to attend a meeting about The Demise of the Bee. 6.30 p.m. - 9.00 p.m. at Jury's Inn Hotel, Midsummer Blvd, CMK. Contact: Ranjit Singh
Wednesday 18th February - a talk by Ian Homer - EUREKA MOMENTS IN BEEKEEPING 7.30 p.m. at Rectory Cottages, Church Green Rd, Bletchley MK3 6BJ
Saturday 28th February - MICROSCOPY with Martin Buckle 1.00 p.m at Hazeley School, Emperor Drive, Hazeley MK8 0PT
Saturday March 7th -13th ANNUAL BUCKS COUNTY SEMINAR 10.00a.m. - 4.15 p.m. Wendover. Contact: John Catton