The 133rd Honiton and District Agricultural Association Show was held on Thursday 1st August 2024 at the Stockers Farm site as usual. It’s always good to have dry weather but this year was exceptionally warm. Visitors were taking shelter in the Bees and Honey marquee to get out of the sun, hopefully engaging in all our attractions and information displays.

At the entrance was the Honey Competition display. We have competition classes to cater for all ages and skill levels, from novices and school children to skilled honey producers, bees wax modelling and honey cake baking.

The judges thought the standard of entries was good. However, the number of entries was disappointing and not one entry made it to the Novice class. The National Honey Show Blue Ribbon award for the ‘Best in Show’ went to John Easton for his honey exhibit.

Next was the East Devon Beekeepers display. This year’s theme was ‘From Hive to Jar’, telling the story of how the bees produce honey and how this is turned into a delicious food product for us to enjoy. The display, see below, featured equipment for extracting, cleaning and bottling the honey to produce the high quality product expected by the public. Beautiful photographs with information panels left the observer in no doubt that a jar of beekeepers honey is a prime product to be celebrated. Thanks to Mary Boulton for her excellent presentation.

This year we had the observation hive with free flying bees in operation. This is always a favourite, with children and adults, trying to spot the queen. Despite the heat, the colony was remarkably calm, coming and going with pollen loads on their back legs and honey stomachs full of nectar, just like they do in their normal hive. Thanks to John Easton for transporting his ‘flying hive’ from Exeter allowing the bees their freedom and us the chance to observe them up close.

The Photo Competition was well subscribed, with visitors being asked to vote for their favourite picture. We had over 400 voting slips from an admiring public! At the final count, the picture of ‘bees above a Cardoon flowerhead’ was declared the winner. Congratulations to Alasdair Bruce.

The Honey Sales display was beautifully laid out with dozens of different samples from around the region showing the variety of honey types available. Sales were brisk, with cut comb selling out quickly.

‘Roll Your Own Candle’ is a mainstay attraction, especially for children. Warm weather makes it so much easier to handle the wax. Essentially a workshop, participants get to learn how to assemble the parts and engage with the texture and smell of the beeswax. Football fans often choose the wax sheet colours of their favourite team! Result…. a great sense of satisfaction.

Another popular attraction is the ‘Taste of Honey’ stand. Who can resist a scone smothered with the honey of your choice? Our happy band of stewards kept the scones coming throughout the day. A great way to try different flavoured honey.

For those visitors not in a hurry we had a ‘virtual hive’. The inside of the hive can be viewed in comfort, without danger of being stung, as the bees go about their normal activities. Queens, workers, drones, eggs and larvae were clearly visible. A children’s competition was running throughout the day which presented them with a challenge to find out a fact or piece of information from each stand. This engaged them (and the parents) and helped them to really ‘look’ at what was around them. Nearly 100 quizzes were enthusiastically completed.

Our final display was the Asian Hornet Information stand. This non-native species is not yet established in the UK, but beekeepers and public alike need to be aware of the dangers it poses. Free identification cards were available.

The stand attracted many visitors and East Devon AH reps, Kevin and Milli, did a magnificent job manning the stand all day. We certainly fulfilled our remit of educating the public about this predator. The model, made by Anita Rossiter, cleverly displayed the essential defining characteristics of the insect.
Additional information on the Asian hornet page.

Presentation of the prizes this year was by Anne Swithinbank, the well-known TV broadcaster and gardening presenter.

Honiton Show may only be a one-day event but it takes a huge amount of organisation to stage successfully. The Bees and Honey Committee, made up from members of East Devon and Exeter branches, should be congratulated for their work over the preceding months to make the Show reflect the vibrancy and popularity of our craft.

The Honey Competition entries were judged by Peter Guthrie and Jack Mummery and the Cake Competition entries by Marian Guthrie. We are grateful to all the judges for their time and expertise.

Our thanks to the many stewards who helped on the stands and interacted with the public. The Show would not work without you! And finally, our thanks to Keith Bone who retires after 13 years on the Show Committee.