You wrote: > I met our Inspector, Beulah Cullen, on Wednesday at a meeting of my > local beekeeping association. As an indicator of the scale of things, Beulah covers us too, although I hope our local BDO (Mark White) is different as he comes up from Gillingam in Dorset (one hell of a slog -- it takes him about 2 hours just to get here). I think there is a more proactive attitude. There needs to be when you consider how widely spread the inspectors are. I personally think that the new initiative shows promise because it aims to better educate beekeepers about their responsibilities to themselves. Of course some of us have always taken that to heart ;-). My worry is that the 'keepeers of bees' will take no notice and will just let their bees suffer whatever comes to them, with the consequential risk to *my* bees. The usual apathy reigns -- In Basingstoke our publicity leaflet even offers to take non-members through disease and varroa inspections and/or treatments, with no strings, but with no takers (yet -- ever the optimist). Still, Beulah and her peers should be giving talks in the forthcoming winters. Perhaps the message will eventually get through; if varroa doesn't first. Best regards, -- Gordon Scott [log in to unmask] 100332,3310 on CompuServe Newsletter [log in to unmask] ditto Beekeeper, Kendo Sandan, sometime sailor. Basingstoke, Hampshire, RG22 5HP, UK