The Press and Journal (Aberdeen and Aberdeenshire)

Teenage apiarist buzzing after contest

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An Aboyne teenager has returned from an internatio­nal beekeeping competitio­n with his head held high after his Scottish team finished fourth overall.

Tarland Bee Group member Martin Leahy was joined by two other keen apiarists from the central belt, who all took part in the week-long Internatio­nal Meeting of Young Beekeepers (IMYB) event in France.

Still buzzing from his recent trip, 14-year-old Martin said he had made a lot of new friends from the 28 different countries who were taking part.

He said: “The IMYB was organised so that you competed within a team of young beekeepers from around the world.

“There were a few honeys I’d rather not have tried”

“We overcame language problems and just got on with the tasks of the day, helping each other out where possible.

“I found the honey tasting quite difficult and there were a few honeys I’d rather not have tried as they were pretty horrible.

“The taste from them overpowere­d the other honey so it was difficult to distinguis­h the different flavours.”

The team came fourth overall out of the 28 teams entered.

The rest of the Scottish team was made up of Angus Rintoul, 17, from East Kilbride, and Harriet Sweatman, 15 from Edinburgh.

Slovakia, Czech Republic and Germany took home the trophies.

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