From A to Bee(27)

MARCH 18



Last night as I was driving home from work, Jo called. 'DHL must have arrived while we were out and delivered a package for you. It's so big and heavy I have just left it outside.'



My heart did actually, believe it or not, skip a little. So my hive had arrived. It was too late to do anything about it as it was pitch black outside, but another day was not going to hurt. I did pop outside later on, though, to see a giant black shadow of a box. It was far bigger than I had expected and I went back inside very excited indeed.



I got up early this morning to attend to the small jobs in the garden that I don't want to be doing at the weekend. I walked around to where DHL had hidden the package. Rather embarrassingly, they had left it behind last year's Christmas tree that I had been meaning to burn for months now! Though my feelings from last night were confirmed about its size, it was considerably lighter than I had expected.



There were in fact two boxes and so I took them around to the front of the house and started to open them excitedly. I felt a slight pang of nostalgia as it was a feeling akin to when Father Christmas used to deliver my presents on Christmas Day.



So I started to open it up and laughed, as this beautiful hive had been protected by bits of recycled cardboard evidently from children's toys. The first piece I pulled out was from 'The Little Princess' and the second was 'Pots and Pans'. This only added to the sense of Christmas nostalgia knowing that, due to timing, these were probably from Christmas presents given to the hive-maker's children. It was also further evidence that this was bought from a small business as it had all the touches of someone actually hand-making it. I loved the fact that the nails provided with the hive were in a recycled envelope with 'Nails' scrawled across the front. How wonderful and non-corporate.



I took the gabled roof out of the box and it looked lovely. I could have gone for the flat roof but felt I needed to upgrade to this sloping roof, akin to one you'd see on a house, for my first purchase. Basically it makes it look more traditional and I am so pleased I decided to go with this little bit of vanity as it really finishes it off.



There were so many pieces and yet no instructions. How on this earth was I, the person who was literally thrown out of woodworking class, going to put this together?! Having given up on the idea of building a hive from scratch, perhaps my pride had got the better of me when ordering. As with all hives, I had the option of either flat packed or assembled. The latter was about 10 per cent dearer so I opted for the former.



Regardless of the lack of instructions, I shall have a go this weekend with the said nails and glue for added reassurance and try not to make too much of a hash of things. Let's see how it goes!





MARCH 20





It has been a truly glorious morning and I got up early to review the task at hand. I felt ready to go but not before Jo and Sebastian got up and breakfast was completed, carnage as always with food splattered everywhere. Sebastian is getting to grips with eating on his own now, which is always an experience to watch. Now peace reigns once more as Jo has taken Sebastian out for a walk. It's a perfect time to get building.



As I was opening the package on the kitchen table again to get to grips with it, I was feeling quite excited and something that had not struck me previously was the smell of the wood. It was as if it had just been cut – a really delightful smell. I counted twenty-six separate segments of wood as I took them out of the box, all of which looked pretty similar. The only bit of woodwork I have ever done in my short life was building a bench similar to those you would see in any park around the world. You know, the ones you steer clear of because they are either inhabited by the local sleeping tramp or by slightly strange people sitting down on them, knees firmly together, balancing a clear plastic lunchbox while they bite down into a triangular sandwich with the crusts cut off. My bench wasn't exactly the greatest success as I measured up a little bit wrong and couldn't really work out how to drill holes properly. No tramp would have ever gone near it. I was therefore a little bit tentative about fitting together these twenty-six random bits of wood.



I really could have done with some instructions. Seeing there were so many different sections I felt I should have a dry run with no nails or glue and just put similar-sized parts together. With the aid merely of a picture of a National hive, it would be interesting to see what I could build.



I made a tentative start and felt my use of the set square was particularly good, having watched a YouTube clip on how to make sure you attain perfect symmetry. (I can't believe I've admitted watching a video of this nature!) In a surprisingly short space of time I had built the brood box, which is where the main nest of bees remains and the queen lays her eggs. I was feeling pretty pleased and the result wasn't bad. Who needs instructions? The two supers quickly followed suit and as a result, in front of me sat my first beehive – though if I even blew on it lightly, it would have all collapsed in a giant pile, and so next week I shall attempt the real build complete with nails and glue. I felt really chuffed and finished just in time for Jo and Sebastian to walk through the back door.