How it all came about

I came to live in London in March 2005. This blog post was the first indicator of my interest in bees.

Once I had fixed the symptoms of my hayfever, I did some research on Google to try and understand why I'd been hit so badly by this horrible affliction. It surprised me to learn that it is a symptom of an urbanising lifestyle; that people who move to the great conurbations of the world - like London - do experience increased hayfever symptoms, and it was particularly amazing to read that Africans -those of us from the Great Continent of Dust - suffer badly when they arrive in the Big "World" Cities.

One of the more natural remedies discussed in some of the articles I read included the so-called "local honey" cure. The story goes that if you regularly eat honey sourced from a hive nearby where you live, you could reduce the symptoms. I researched this interesting hypothesis further and found that the more in-depth research shows that it is actually only the beekeeper himself who can acquire "hayfever immunity" - because it is by suffering the occasional sting from his own bees in conjunction with eating the produce of his own bee harvest, that he builds up resistance.

I was fascinated by this information and, over the next year or so began to look for - and consume - local honey. Miraculously, my rhinitis seemed to disappear. Eventually I built up enough of an interest, and for once it was early enough in the spring season, to register for a Beginner Beekeeper course. At around about the same time, I started learning more about the tragic consequences of man's bee farming efforts over the last 200 years and this stimulated my interest even more. It would be lovely, thought I, to try and actually help to save bees if at all possible, in my own small way.

And I visited Kilulu Lodge, where a small community of people are working together to try and build a uniquely successful model of business in Africa. Part of their delightful venture was the accidental acquisition of 4 beehives which they have strategically placed on the perimeter of their property, as a wonderfully quirky security measure against thieves and "tsotsis". Their honey comes from bluegum trees and its taste is thick and darkly toffee-flavoured. (More interesting stuff! Honies from different areas taste different, because they're sourced from different plants and flowers.)

So in March this year, exactly 4 years after arriving in London, I managed to find a space on a Beginner Beekeeper course. It was intriguing to find that these courses are in huge demand at the moment; they are definitely "in fashion" as part of the spiritual search among First World communities towards a more organic, nature-inclusive lifestyle. I found a wonderful, small association nearby in Enfield and joined the overflowing class of 30 people twice a week in the evenings. I blogged about it here.

As the course progressed, I found a growing determination to make this venture happen for me. So many obstacles presented themselves - money limitations, the small size of my garden, possible resistance from housemates and neighbours, my possible future emigration to New Zealand. But then I discovered that, in New Zealand, beekeepers are a rare and valued breed of worker. And I thought to myself , "perhaps, perhaps, this could be a business I could establish. Something all of my own; something new; a break from the old, stale, corporate career that I loathe so much". And my inner determination grew, and grew.

A lot has changed. Funnily enough, one of the original reasons for this journey - a beekeeper's "hayfever cure" has been completely pooh-poohed by my mentors at the Beekeeping Association. A pharmacist doing the course with me explained that my rhinitis disappeared over the last few years because Britain has had such wet weather, and so many bad summers, the pollen count has been significantly reduced.

Some things I could make happen. Some things I could change, and others I must still address.

But from today I am a beekeeper, for better or worse. This blog will be a record of that journey.