Contact Us - Bermondsey Street Bees

CONTACT

How To Find Us

103 Bermondsey Street, London, SE1 3XB

GET IN TOUCH

Dale Gibson
Beekeeping and Apis Consulting
dale@bermondseystreetbees.co.uk

@bstreetbees
@bermondseybees
@apisconsult

Please note that we do not offer swarm collection services.
Visit bbka.org.uk/swarm for your nearest collector.

Sarah Wyndham Lewis
Press, Events, Sales, Honey Sommelier
Tel: 07836 592415
sarah@bermondseystreetbees.co.uk

@sarahwyndham.lewis
@plantingforhoneybees
@honeysommelierlondon

Please e-mail Sarah to join our mailing
list for honey and event updates

To shop at our online store, click here

bstreetbees

This is one jab you’d definitely rather not have

This is one jab you’d definitely rather not have! #nowaitinglist

The word “exponential” springs to mind, lookin

The word “exponential” springs to mind, looking at the upswing of European Foulbrood (EFB) bee disease in London over the last 6 years. This bacterial disease is tough to eradicate: proximity is one factor, inability to diagnose the disease is another. One for the SAGE Committee? #contagion #EFB #europeanfoulbrood #exponential #thebeeaxis #Melissococcus plutonius #trending

I’m old enough to remember a time when ATMs disp

I’m old enough to remember a time when ATMs dispensed used banknotes, rather than crisp new ones. Even so, I was dismayed to have an older £20 note rejected for payment at the Co-op for being “too crinkly”. (At least I think it was the note which the cashier was referring to...) #legaltender #toocrinkly #

Aptly-named @JoyPortobello backlights our raw sing

Aptly-named @JoyPortobello backlights our raw single-origin honeys on its shelves, displaying their diversity of colours and textures & hinting at their terroir-driven flavours. Why settle for blended, industrially-processed supermarket honey when you could jump for Joy instead ? #joyatportobello #rawhoney #singleoriginhoney #jumpforjoy #bermondseystreetbees #sustainablebeekeeping

Do not adjust your set. This is a delightful snaps

Do not adjust your set. This is a delightful snapshot of a varroa board, removed from under the mesh floor of a beehive. There’s a smattering of dead varroa mites & 3 dark stripes indicating strong brood, while the outer bands show lighter wax debris from feeding on honey stores. This is all a beekeeper needs to see to be happy in January. #januhappy #bermondseystreetbees #dontopenthehives #varroaboard #varroa #lowmitedrop #donotadjustyourset

Slumgum. The sticky residue from the filtration of

Slumgum. The sticky residue from the filtration of beeswax. It looks a bit like Christmas pudding, it’s sticky with honey, propolis and the pupal “shirts” of baby bees. In our zero waste world, it makes a great fire-lighter. And what’s not to like about the word itself ? Slumgum. #slumgum #zerowaste #pupalshirts #firelighter #earworm #beekeeping #quaintbeekeepingterminolgy #sustainablebeekeeping #bermondseystreetbees

NHS advice: if you’ve completely lost your sense

NHS advice: if you’ve completely lost your sense of taste and smell, you should get a COVID-19 test, then stay at home until you get the results.

But the good news is that, deprived of your sense of taste and smell, you’d probably enjoy this 85p jar of “a blend of non-EU honeys” #tastelessjoke #badtastejoke #actuallyawfultastejoke

Just out! A neat graphic of our raw London Metro h

Just out! A neat graphic of our raw London Metro honey on the front cover of The Great Taste Book 2020-2021 from @guildoffinefood . Nice to see a front page with something to celebrate nowadays.... #greattasteawards #guildoffinefood #londonhoney #bestlondonhoney #frontpagenews #readallaboutit

A simple mop-head switch makes a huge difference.

A simple mop-head switch makes a huge difference.

Pay attention, 2021, I’m talking to you....

For those deprived of a change of scenery at the m

For those deprived of a change of scenery at the moment. This is alpine beekeeping. Vive la différence! #achangeofscenery #alldownhillfromhere #viveladifference

2020 wasn’t all bad. We won a Food Oscar (Golden

2020 wasn’t all bad. We won a Food Oscar (Golden Fork) as the “Best Food Product in London & SE” in the @guildoffinefood Great Taste Awards. What’s more, of our 6 GTA honey entries, 3 won the top 3-star award (just 205 out of 12,777 entries) & the 3 others were awarded 2 stars !

Our honey also won “Best Honey” in the U.K. in the @gbf_mag Great British Food Awards in 2020 - & another of our honeys came in as Runner-Up. Not bad for a small supplier of raw artisan honey...

We adapted to the hospitality industry shut-down with online retail @provenancehub. Along with the hamper business, exports to the Far East and our lifestyle products (handscrub, bodywash, mugs, tea-towels), online has helped us keep our staff on full hours, full pay in 2020. #notallbad #adaptordie #honey #awardwinninghoney #swepttheboard #bermondseystreetbees

2020 was an irksome year in beekeeping, as much as

2020 was an irksome year in beekeeping, as much as it was for the rest of the planet. From our perspective, the year’s low was the dereliction of an apiary site during a two-week occupation by travellers. A sad mirror held up to humanity.

While all eyes were on COVID-19 & its ramifications, there was a parallel surge in contagion of notifiable bee-diseases EFB and AFB in London - a sure symptom of the pressures on bee-welfare in our over-crowded city. (Unfortunately, there are no vaccines for EFB and AFB bacteria)

Worse yet, the dereliction of the hospitality industry meant that demand for our bulk wholesale honey disappeared down a rabbit-hole. And COVID-19 restrictions meant that our Bee-Experience business also came to a shuddering halt. Sadly, the lights are still out. Roll on 2021. #retrospective #thingscanonlygetbetter

A small symbol of beekeeperly solidarity in a sund

A small symbol of beekeeperly solidarity in a sundered world: we proposed a Mug Swap with our great friend @littlehoneyman in Singapore. A fitting end to a year in which we exported our English honeys to Japan & Singapore. Here’s to “handles across the water”! #beekeeping #mugswap #handlesacrossthewater #honeyexport #innovation

In the @britishbeekeepers Honey Survey 2020, Londo

In the @britishbeekeepers Honey Survey 2020, London showed the largest decline of all regions with a statistically significant sample. Honey yields fell 45%, from 18.8kg to 10.4kg/hive (while disease surged). As sustainable beekeepers, we took the (difficult) decision to reduce our hive count in London by 30% in 2020. Even our multi-year-multi-award-winning Bermondsey Street apiary has been relocated to Hertfordshire...a great sadness, but the only logical action. #sustainablebeekeeping #beeslivesmatter #plantingforhoneybees #honeysommelierlondon #bbka #statisticallysignificant #honeysurvey

Christmas “Varroa Drops” Recipe. Take 1 apia

Christmas “Varroa Drops” Recipe.

Take 1 apiary site. Add mid-winter seasoning. Mix. Prepare a full PPE dressing. Measure 2g organic oxalic (rhubarb leaf) acid. Pre-heat blow-torch. Insert spout into hive. Add oxalic powder. Cook at 160c for 1 minute. Remove from hive. Serves 97%. #arecipeforbees #bermondseystreetbees #varroadrops #christmas

Tier 4 trophallaxis restrictions: a maximum of two

Tier 4 trophallaxis restrictions: a maximum of two bees may exchange food in an open space together.

Our Honey HQ’s open on Saturday 19th December 11

Our Honey HQ’s open on Saturday 19th December 11am-2pm. This year one of these honeys won “Best Honey” in the Great British Food Awards @gbf_mag & the other won “Best Food Product in London & The South East” in the @guildoffinefood Great Taste Awards. Can you tell which is which? #honey #honeyhq #bermondseystreet #honeysommelierlondon

Honey jars in a box. Not all that different from a

Honey jars in a box. Not all that different from a honeycomb... #bermondseystreetbees #honeyinabox #honeycomb #honeycrush

This Saturday. 11am-6pm. Opening up our Honey HQ o

This Saturday. 11am-6pm. Opening up our Honey HQ on Bermondsey Street. Come & browse our raw Honey (jars, tasting boxes, buckets, combs), Lifestyle goodies (Handscrub, Body Wash, Beeswax Wraps, Honey Soap, Candles, Bee-Mugs and Tea Towels). Did I mention: This Saturday. 11am-6pm? #bermondseystreetbees #honeysommelierlondon #plantingforhoneybees #honeyhq #honey #londonhoney #rooftophoney #beemondseystreet #saturdayshopping #openingup

Santa’s elves have got nothing on the work-rate

Santa’s elves have got nothing on the work-rate of our Honey HQ producers. Here’s a beautiful stack of 3-star Exmoor Wildflower Honey jars, prepped for delivery this week for a massive wellness-hamper order. (Whisper it quietly, but there’s still 3 1/2 weeks until Christmas Day!) #honeygrotto #sustainablebeekeeping #honeyhq #ourproducers #qualitystack #bermondseystreetbees #honeyjars #wellnesshampers #busy

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