Royal Festival Hive

Summer is Icumen

As part of the hive's ongoing program of cultural entertainment choral trio Herb paid the roof a visit on Sunday afternoon. Our uncanny ability to attract rain relented again and the bees were in lively mood as the sun came out. Herb treated them to a variety of bee related musical numbers including this excellent rendition of Summer Is Icumen In a traditional English 'round' written in 1260 which also appears in the climax of the original version of The Wicker Man. I wonder when a hive last flew to these words:

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Top marks to the lead soprano who kept singing after an inquisitive bee landed on her hand during the song.

Appreciating the airborne

Last week the bees received a visit from Gavin Pretor-Pinney, author of The Cloudspotter's Guide and founder of the Cloud Appreciation Society. He started the society in 2004 as a way of gathering together people who believe that clouds are a poetic part of nature and one of the most beautiful of her displays. A little like bees, you might say.

Unfortunately we were under horizon-to-horizon Altostratus or "the boring cloud", a pale grey tupperware sky, during the visit. But we hope after his reading that the bees will have some appreciation of life above the hive as well as life at roof and ground level. Gavin kindly made them honorary members of the society.

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Remember, a cloud in the shape of a bee is something to be enjoyed from a car window or grassy hillside, but a dark cloud of bees is probably a swarm and best dealt with by a qualified professional.

Lemn reads

Lemn Sissay kicked the snow off his boots and brought the sunshine out on the roof of the Festival Hall on Thursday, the official First Day of Spring. He read the bees a poem of his own, and this one by the floridly named Algernon Charles Swinburne:
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