Royal Festival Hive

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Voices in the Beehive.

Headphone listening recommended. Recorded with Coresound binaural mics onto a plain old sony MZR35 minidisc. (R.M)

The Virgin Queen

A curiously mixed-up symbolism derived from the beeswax candle, partly because in pagan Rome and Sicily there had been a mythology associated with the bee that had never wholly been discarded. The bee was regarded as a virgin producer of offspring and the one king bee in the hive (now known as the queen) was likened to the kings and later popes and bishops. Lay brothers in monasteries were compared the drones and if they were scourged for their own good now and then it was a parallel with the slaughter of the drones in the hive. The mother bee apis mater was wrongly supposed to produce the wax. Candles symbolized the virgin body of Christ and their light the divine light. The virginity of the bee gave it a special place in symbolism, and in the candle for which the bee provided the wax the wick was symbolically linked with the soul. The ancients, mystified by the complex economy and habits of the hive, regarded the bees as divine. When beeswax candles, probably for quite utilitarian reasons, appeared on Christian altars this mythology was translated, but not ignored.

O'Dea W.T (1958) The Social History of Lighting. London: Routledge and Kegan Paul. pp. 142

(R.M)

Introductory Offer

John was on the Today programme on Radio 4 this morning, talking about pollination and the perilous state of bees in London. He made the case for research funding - until there’s some proper research we’re not going to find out what’s making all the bees disappear. The good news is that the public seem to be well informed and supportive. John collected over a thousand signatures on two open days recently and their is a real sense of concern about what is going on.

The consensus amongst London Beekeepers is that this isn’t shaping up to be a great season. The weather is so erratic that the bees are having a tough time of it and London honey is a little thin on the ground. John can’t keep up with the demand - apparently he’s had to turn down Harvey Nichols, Whole Foods Market, and various other suppliers of fine foodstuffs. Speaking of which, news that Fortnum & Mason have finally installed hives on their roof this week. We’ll have to see if we can organise a visit.

Today’s trip to the roof confirmed John’s suspicions that we are without queen. The old one is doing well in her new residence in Kennington apparently, but our bees have been without a leader for the last couple of weeks and there is no sign of eggs.

John usually has a trick or two up his sleeve. This time it was a new queen in his shirt pocket. I like the idea of her traveling in from Acton on the tube during rush hour.

He placed the ‘introducing box’ into the middle of the hive. The entrance has a block of candy in which by the time the bees have eaten their way through will have allowed the scent of the new queen to mingle with the smells of the hive enough for the bees to accept her. That’s the idea. Lets hope they do give her a warm welcome otherwise she’s in for a rough ride.

There’s an introductory evening happening at Roots and Shoots in Lambeth on Weds 18th June at 6.30pm. John will be on hand to show people around the inside of a hive and talk about the joys of beekeeping. You can book here.