Dr Weeks and the Go Apiary Club were delighted to welcome BBC Radio Oxford’s Kat Orman to OHS on September 26th 2019. Clearly Dr Weeks and the Go Apiary members proved themselves to be fascinating interview subjects, because Kat stayed long past her allocated time and even ended up donning a beekeeper’s suit to take a closer look at the hives!
The interview – which was broadcast on the 1st of October and can be heard here: – saw Dr Weeks and the girls enthuse about all the wonderful peculiarities of bee-keeping. Topics covered included why bees swarm (to create new hives), how to remove stings, checking the hives for capped honey, identifying queen caps and the changing flavour of the honey over the two extractions this summer (the first was light and citrusy, the second was golden and more floral).
Kat also unearthed the fact that the passion for bee-keeping has now extended to Kitty (Year 12) owning her own hives and the special affinity that OHS girls feel with the matriarchal society of the bees.
Finally, time was given to discuss the future of the club and the new entrepreneurial ventures that the girls are considering. These include making beeswax candles and producing therapeutic treatments from propolis. Propolis, also known as royal jelly or ‘bee penicillin’, is the sticky substance that coats the girls’ gloves and the inside of every hive. Respected throughout the history of beekeeping for its medicinal properties, it could be used as either a vocal treatment for singers (and teachers?) or as a natural anti-inflammatory, anti-bacterial or even anti-viral remedy. So watch this space!
Girls at Oxford High School harvesting honey from their beehives. Pictured here is Caitlin and Kitty. 12.09.2019 Picture by Ed Nix
Girls at Oxford High School harvesting honey from their beehives. 12.09.2019 Picture by Ed Nix
Girls at Oxford High School harvesting honey from their beehives. Pictured here is Caitlin and Kitty. 12.09.2019 Picture by Ed Nix
Girls at Oxford High School harvesting honey from their beehives. Pictured here is Caitlin and Kitty. 12.09.2019 Picture by Ed Nix
