Fadó, fadó an old man from Miltown who had worked for a few years in England told me a lovely story about honey.
As young men, in the early 1950s, himself and a neighbour were sharing digs in London. The food was fine – a bit scarce and without the kind of frills my story teller’s sweet-toothed neighbour was used to.
“You couldn’t draw marmalade to him and his mother used to trowel it up on his bread,” he said.
“I’m going to say it to her at breakfast,” the man with the sweet tooth resolved. He did, and the lady of the house said she’d see what she could do.
At breakfast the following morning the cornflakes were finished and the boiled egg and the buttered toast arrived. Only this morning there was a glaze off the toast caused by a bare scrape of honey.
Your man tasted it and looked up at the woman and said: “Aha, I see ye keep a bee.”
I thought of him the other morning down at the Castleisland Day Care Centre as members of the Sliabh Luachra Bee-Keepers Club presented a fine box of honey to the management there.
The club organised a members only honey show and it was held in Browne’s Bar here in Castleisland on Tuesday, October 28th.
The organisers were pleased with the turn out as this was the first honey show held in Castleisland.
The honey judge was impressed with the high standard of honey on the night. The club members agreed to donate all the honey on show to the local day care centre.
“2014 was a great year for Bee Keepers due to the long fine summer which resulted in a good production of honey and increase in bee stocks throughout the country,” said club founder member, Billy O’Rourke.
This year’s winner of the Sliabh Luachra Honey Show was Seamus Quinlan. In second place was Jean Louis Valentin and in third place was the same Billy O’Rourke.
The Sliabh Luachra Bee Keeping Club was formed November 2011 and it’s getting stronger each year. Meetings are held in Browne’s Bar on the first Tuesday of each month at 8 30pm. Meetings will recommence in March 2015 and anyone interested in bee keeping will be welcome to attend.
