‘Bees are so important for our future’
Siobhan Penrose-johnson has become a beekeeper and forager to provide some of the produce for the Peak District pub restaurant she runs with husband, Graham.
I’m most content when I’m at the bottom of the garden tending to my bees and watching them go about their work. They’re fascinating and produce delicious honey, but, more importantly, they’re crucial for our entire ecosystem.
If it wasn’t for bees, our food chain would collapse and the whole balance of nature would be in jeopardy. Nearly all crops are dependent on bee pollination to grow and a third of all the food we eat has been pollinated by bees.
I was always keen to keep bees, long before it became fashionable. When
I was in my 20s, I went on a week-long beekeeping course. But it wasn’t until Graham and I took on The George in Alstonefield in the Peak District four years ago that I finally had the space to get my first hive. There’s something very spiritual about bees and I feel very responsible for their wellbeing. At this time of year, the bees have gone into hibernation, but I still have to check them regularly to see that they’re warm and dry and that the winter bees are protecting their queen. This year,
I took some honey to use in the restaurant, so it’s important to make sure the bees have enough food themselves to sustain them through winter.
We’re lucky that there’s so much meadow land for the bees to find food around here. But in urban areas that’s not always the case. One-third of bee species in the UK are in decline and loss of habitat is one of the biggest problems. Pesticide use and drought are some of the other reasons.
I grew up in the countryside, surrounded by people who grew their own produce and tried not to waste anything. I think that’s why sustainability has always been of interest to me.
It’s important to us that we’re serving food in out restaurant that’s produced nearby. The meat is from local farms using higher welfare methods, so you know that the animals have been well cared for and have lived a good life. It makes a huge difference to the quality and taste of the meat.
We’ve rebuilt the disused kitchen garden and I spend two days a week from spring to autumn tending the vegetables we grow, which include artichokes, Brussels sprouts, cabbages and rhubarb. It’s hard work but worth it. We eat the produce and sell it in the restaurant.
I also go foraging in the little local lanes or down by the river. During the autumn that means blackberries, damsons, herbs and nuts. It’s important to me that our guests are served food that hasn’t travelled miles.
But I’m at my happiest when I’m with my bees. People might think I’m mad but I always follow the ancient folklore that says you have to tell the bees if someone has died or if there’s important news. It’s said that if the custom is ignored, the bees might leave their hive or stop producing honey. Better safe than sorry!
The best thing we can all do is to plant some bee-friendly flowers, even if that means making room for them in a manicured garden or a window box. You can buy bee mix seed packets or plant buddleia, lavender, alliums and bulbs to feed them in spring.
• thegeorgeatalstonefield.com
You have to tell the bees if there’s important news