I think the last post had me in London having just come from the Natural Beekeeping Conference and some serious shed-living in Forest Row, Sussex.
With Dr. Luke Dixon (you can check out his recently published book in the new Recommended Reading section of this blog) as my guide, I climbed to the rooftops of the London School of Economics and several law firms/businesses around Red Lion Square. I also made time to visit the Imperial War Museum and the Natural History Museum among other places, but the former two were definitely my favorites.
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| Beekeepers on law firm roof by Red Lion Square. Check out the cool WBC hive! |
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| The loneliest corner of the Natural History Museum... my FAVORITE!! |
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| A family came into the invertebrate collection and the mother actually said something like "well, it's kind of boring in here, isn't it. I thought there might be something moving or some flashing lights." They had barely rolled the stroller into the room before they did a 180 degree turn and left. I was thankful and figured they were probably going back to look at something lame like the dinosaur room again. The arthropod exhibit DID have plenty of 'flashing lights' which I found disconcerting. |
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| Experimental British National made from particle board (not to be confused with ParticleMan) |
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| Atypical dinner. I have to post pictures of food because Mom and Alicia think I'm starving to death. This was from Food for Thought, a great vegetarian cafe just outside of Covent Garden tube station. I became a regular for dinner while I was in London. |
After a week I caught the train to the northern reaches of England in Cumbria where I learned how to build skeps in the shadow of Greystoke Castle (unrelated to the famous Edgar Rice Burroughs character, I think) and then carried my newly made bee hive to, quite appropriately, St. Bees, which is on the Irish Sea and is the western terminus of the Wainwright Coast to Coast Walk.
With my prized possession strapped to my backpack I commenced the 220 mile walk through a torrential rainstorm and officially entered the Lake District. After climbing the many high routes through the Lakes, I eventually descended to Grasmere (former home of William Wordsworth, who described it as "the loveliest place that man hath ever found") and mailed the skep off to Wales. I continued the trek across the Yorkshire Dales and the North York Moors to Robin Hood's Bay on the North Sea. Along the way I learned a lot about the natural habitat and floral resources for honey bees in Britain and even met a beekeeper nationally renowned for his heather honey- he had an entire wall of honey show ribbons from the past ten years to prove it! I bought a couple of jars of a floral/heather mix and he and his wife sent me away with a scrumptous dinner pack-up. I also learned a lot about British rural life (pretty much that there are a lot of sheep), attended an agriculture show in the Dales (complete with sheep herding and a fell race), and found a great railway station-turned-cinema in Richmond where I saw the new Bourne movie (rubbish) and Anna Karennina.
After arriving at the North Sea, I shouldered my kit and made my way back across the country to northern Wales, where I met with Dr. David Heaf, the champion of the Warre hive. I spent three days with Dr. Heaf and his wife, who showed me the greatest hospitality and hosted many great conversations concerning beekeeping, sustainability, and, seemingly, the mysteries of nature. I left North Wales completely rejuvanated from the long walk and with a lot of things to think about.
Next it was off to Aberystwyth, an exciting college town and home to the National Library of Wales - which is home to the International Bee Research Association's Eva Crane Collection. I repeat, THE EVA CRANE COLLECTION. I was welcomed as a reader - very little red tape at Wales's National Library - and carried out a handful of 9 to 5 days pouring through the amazing accumulation of work. It would take a lifetime to go through the entire collection, but there were a few particular books and articles I was interested in and I also picked up some other books published in Britain. The library is a non-lending library, which means you have to visit during business hours to read the books you want and you are not allowed to leave with them. Security is very tight and you have to put your bag in a locker, show your Reader Identification, pass through the security station, and carry whatever notebooks and pens you need to take with you in a plastic bag. When you leave the plastic bag is searched through to make sure you haven't stolen anything. Something else great was listening to so many people speak Welsh. I found some of the pronunciations to be very difficult, but it was fun trying anyway.
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| National Library of Wales |
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| Typical lunch from The Tree House in Aber |
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| Lunchtime view in Aber |
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| This does not represent how I spend my time. |
After my fun times on the coast of Wales, I left for Peterborough, England (which is a large city in the middle of England that is neglected from your standard Lonely Planet Guidebook). It certainly wasn't a tourist town, but it IS the location of Britain's Invertebrate Conservation Organization, BugLife. I spent a week with the brown field specialists learning a lot about threats to pollinators in general, like neonicotinoids, and met a few guys super-excited by flies! Dipterans need love too, I guess.
Finally, after a brief return to London to consolidate gear I made a spontaneous marathon journey back to South Wales to visit Bees for Development in Monmouth, and I am very glad I did. I had been a bit uneasy about leaving Britain as I had so greatly enjoyed my time there. Also, I knew the transtion to the Tanzania/Egypt/India leg of my journey was going to be a much bigger change than going from the States to Britain. Fortunately, the folks at Bees for Development were great to talk to and provided some much needed insight into my next step. There was so much experience in the office! Tom Seeley's, Honey Bee Democracy and Jurgen Tautz's The Buzz About Bees, were again highly recommended and I had a chance to go through some other research materials and make some new contacts in India and Tanzania. I attended their Strengthening Livelihoods Through Beekeeping course and then made my way back to London for the grand departure to Tanzania. Oh yes, I also shaved my head and my beard, for the most part.
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| Reasons why my backpack is so heavy... |
Spending nearly three months in Britain (England and Wales only) was a very great experience. I made many friends that I will, without a doubt, keep in touch with for a long time. Moreover, I developed a great appreciation for the culture and history of Glorious Britain (like tea and empires), while gaining a clearer understanding of the origins of my own country. I knew Britain was THE place to begin my Watson year and it did not disappoint. There was such a diversity of knowledge to be had and perspectives to entertain concerning beekeping, as well as many topics beyond, but intimately related to, the discipline.
As Mr. John Muir has been tirelessly quoted "When we try to pick out anything by itself, we find it hitched to everything else in the Universe."
I hope my experiences continue to reflect this.
So with that, I say "Cheers, Britain" and "Habari, Tanzania."
PS I mailed most of my pictures home, so I have no way of posting anything from before visiting the National Library. Sorry.
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