Change in the Air

 This summer may have produced a record crop of Olympic Golds for team GB, but it has been an unusual season for honey-bees, with a reported sixty per cent reduction in honey production! Local conditions can vary greatly; against the odds, our two hives have produced an amazing 175lbs of honey this year.
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We have been on an emotional roller-coaster with our reigning Queens, Banba and Cleo; the untimely loss of young Queen Cleo in May left her prolific hive Queen-less. Luckily our new Buckfast Queen, Diana, has proved herself a worthy successor; the hive have amassed a staggering 75lb of honey in the twelve weeks between June and August. The bees' complex communication system has kicked in, the location of the kitchen process plant is now clearly on their flight path!  It is not unusual, as the honey flows, to be serenaded in 'Buzz' by our curious stripey friends!