Saturday 4 June 2011

Friday 3rd June 11

Another busy day, and boiling hot.... perfect for the Manchester World Naked Bike Ride, which I'm really sad I'm not going on.... The weather is forecast to be slightly cooler tomorrow for our York ride, but not cold or rainy...

So, first thing I was awoken by Gill saying she thought that there was a swarm of bees in our big pollarded willow.  She wanted to ask me what we should do about it.  I groggily went to have a look and was unsure whether they were honeybees or something else.  It certainly wasn't what I understand as a swarm.  Just a load of bees obviously going in and out of a cavity in the tree.

So I got up and rang a beekeeper who's number we have, and then went on the York beekeepers website and rang some of them.  A bit later, Tom, who has I think he said got 90 hives, came round with his grand-daughter and he identified the bees as bumblebees, not honeybees.  He said they'd be there til about August and then the males and queens would fly off and the colony would disperse.  But it's a really good thing to have as they are excellent pollinators.

I had a fairly busy day, including doing a bit of digging out of a cubic metre of compost in a NZ bin, transferring it to a builder's bag. I did get out on my bike, visiting a friend in town to have a conversation about a mutual contact who's been taking advantage of vulnerable women, and I've collected a few stories about him, and am hoping to do something about it.

It was a very hot day and I got quite sweaty so before I went to work, I had a really good hot shower, a totally solar shower.  Soon after 6 I got off to Naburn Village Hall for a charity fundraiser, where I was doing a balloon modelling entertainment.  The event was to raise funds for an orphanage in Uganda, and it was a lot of fun.  I may get time to write more about it, but I was also invited to write something for the Press website so I am going to get on with that.

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