Honey shows.

[Greengage]

There seems to be a lot if honey shows on at the moment we are even having a local show with all members encouraged to enter something either honey, wax, cake or something new like an invention or a photo.
The top prize appears to be in all shows no matter where they are held a perpetual silver cup, I would hate to win one of these cups having to look at it all year, could people organising these shows not come up with something better like a hive tool, smoker or hive parts even a new queen anything bar a cup.

[GRIZZLY]

If you win a cup you have your name engraved on it so that the next winners can see how clever you've been.

[gavin]

No need to worry. The only folk likely to win one of those cups are hard core show freaks, the kind of person who really wants cups on their mantlepiece or in their cabinet.

It seems to be the same everywhere. The subset of association members who get passionate about showing declines and the subset who can't be arsed with this sort of thing grows. We do try to encourage new exhibitors and if you exhibit members get the right to sell honey on the stall at the Dundee Show so that helps keep some interest.

One thing that lightened it for me at the SBA tent at the Royal Highland Show a few years ago was a new category (with a nod to the Two Ronnies), Four Candles. A much needed injection of some humour. You could see the glazed eyes of the public as they wandered past brighten significantly, at least the eyes of those who twigged.

[Feckless Drone]

The only folk likely to win one of those cups are hard core show freaks, the kind of person who really wants cups on their mantlepiece or in their cabinet.



Anybody who retains a competitive streak just hasn't really grown up yet (like me!). But - the showing of honey/products should help promote the craft, let people see what can be produced or show a level of activity in an association. Of course if the display is pants then that also sends a signal. I do think that if you go through all the hassle of extracting honey you might as well try to do a good job of presenting it, as good as you would see in shops or shows and the way to learn how to do that can be to enter and get feedback. Actually I am surprised at the poor presentation of honey for sale in some large stores where you see stuff that, I now know, is not show standard.

I guess those horrible cups are simply a legacy of the past; we've all moved on and the way things are going then the honey showing

[gavin]

Quite right, there is a place for showing. Upping the quality and spreading knowledge on how to achieve it are important aspects that justify the whole thing. OK, how do we make it relevant, more attractive to exhibitors and to the audience? Events like the Dundee Flower and Food Festival remain strongly supported by the public. Probably most go there for something interesting to do - listen to celebrity chefs, listen to local musicians, lots of things to entertain the kids. As beekeepers we should be trying to make the displays more engaging and offer several things to grab the audience and make them wonder or put smiles on their faces.

The Jampionships last year added something new to the weekend - a burst of creativity and fun. It contrasted with the generally staid labels and presentation of the honey across the tent.

Can you tell that our exhibit next September is on the mind at the moment?!

[gavin]

Of course if the display is pants ....

Hmmnnn .... is there a germ of an idea there to liven things ..... ?

[Jon]

The honey which wins the show has usually been heated and filtered so many times that it is not even edible anymore.
There are folk who enter the same batch year after year.
If taste were the key factor, none of the usual suspects would win a thing apart from the UK filtration perpetual trophy.

[busybeephilip]

Jon, What does that say about the judges sense of taste ? :)

[Feckless Drone]

If taste were the key factor, none of the usual suspects would win a thing apart from the UK filtration perpetual trophy.

I never thought I would adopt a position to defend the "pedantry" of show judging. I have to admit to finding the process/activity ever so slightly amusing and there is a wealth of data in this for some psychology research. OK - maybe its all been done.
Good judges will easily be able to tell what has done the rounds before and what is this years crop. I've seen several occasions when the judge decides on the basis of taste - and then that's a very personal thing as well. So, I'm happy to let them that want to compete go ahead and them that want to improve skills in getting to marketable/presentable honey do that, and them that don't is fine as well. Like every aspect of this craft; there has to be room for different approaches and interests. Ive found it instructive to enter the shows and I would encourage every beginner to have a go.

At the Dundee FFF there is the added incentive that a small exhibit entry fee gets you into the show with a significant saving on the full price. Right, there you are I am a cheap, immature, easily amused, pedant.

Jon - you get any entry forms for the UK filtration trophy?

[busybeephilip]

One thing that does get my goat about honey shows is the repeated entry of exhibits, that is between shows of the same year and the same entry each year. Eg Wax blocks ! I see the same block at our show each year, of course the way to stop this is to put a mark on each entry as it has been judged. I'm sure that many would disagree and I understand why but if credit has been awarded at one show then why should it be repeated at another.

For example a honey cake when judged is cut in half, it can not then be re entered into a show taking place in another county next week so why not other exhibits barred in the same way ?

[fatshark]

I've had some fun entering shows, but precious little success. One of the most enjoyable aspects is getting tips and tricks from the near-OCD 'passionates' as Gavin terms them. It's amazing/pathetically sad (delete as you see fit) to see how some prepare their exhibits. A good judge at a local honey show i.e. sympathetic to the beginner and with a good sense of humour, makes for a very enjoyable evening. We had one show where all entries in the mead competition were rejected outright as being "industrial" (if I remember, none of the bottles had much in after the show closed :p) and one where my - hopeless - attempt at a honey cake was returned with a small handwritten label in the bag that said "I wouldn't buy it, but I'd happily eat it".

[Greengage]

I thought I was going to get chewed out for suggesting that I would hate to win one of these cups, but it looks like I am not in the minority. If you look at the prize giving it is the same people all the time that win, now fair play to them if thats what your into. I was thinking of buying the winners honey and repackaging it and entering it again to see what the reaction would be, (Being Mischievous) bit like in the film Calender girls where your woman bought the cake that won.
I was at a poultry fancy show earlier in the year and the was blue murder because the top show bird on Championship corner was not owned or bred by the winner it was purchased in England after winning a number of shows and then hawked around Ireland by its new owner and won again. This year at another show I know the same thing will happen again as birds are brought in. But back to the bees from what I have heard there is a lot of black arts involved in producing honey for show and I dont think it would be very palatable to eat some of it.

[Mellifera Crofter]

I don't know ... I've not noticed any shenanigans in our association's shows! I quite like the idea of participating, but I've only managed it twice so far. One of the trophies is a silver plate with people's names engraved on it by, I do think, a master engraver. It's beautifully done, each name in a different font. I can't remember to which category this trophy belongs, but I must find out so that I can win it and admire the calligraphy for a year.
Kitta

[Jon]

Jon, What does that say about the judges sense of taste ? :)

Neither of us usually enters stuff in the shows so I guess we think the same.
I won the '12 jars with labels stuck on category' one year but they opened about 5 of them and broke the seals during the judging. Presumably to confirm it was inedible.
I also won about 3 Euro at Gormanston for a photo of a bee with willowherb pollen a few years back so I guess that makes me a full on serious OCD show animal.

[Jon]

I have to admit to finding the process/activity ever so slightly amusing...

You and me both! It was the same at the winemakers circle or any other club where the activity gets turned into a life or death competition.

[alancooper]

a honey cake when judged is cut in half
I can beat this - my first winning honey cake was cut up and given to the children - the perfect end for a winning cake.

[busybeephilip]

I'm still eating mine, it gets better with age !

Have to add, it was not a fisrt prize but got 2nd and 3rd in cake and loaf

[Calluna4u]

Have never entered a honey show. Firstly could not tolerate the fussy retentiveness of the process, and also disagree with many of the criteria used in the judging (was roped in in an emergency to judge the honey at a weekend conference I was a speaker at. it was a political minefield!).

However, to echo what some have hinted at, we have sold honey to people who then exhibited it. The classic was one time we had a great bell heather crop and had thousands of boxes of it to extract, and it was as pure as you could get, so much so that once stabilised as a clear honey it stayed perfectly clear for many years. A well known beekeeper bought a couple of buckets from me straight off the fine filter (just small mesh net and gravity filtration, not anything severe) and jarred it up and exhibited it at a honey show. it won first prize. The same jars were then apparently on the showbench every year for a period estimated at between 8 and 15 years (by his rivals) and regularly won (always I think).

The same guy also bought an utterly perfect comb of heather from me and entered it in the same show. I saw the show later myself and it was by a mile the best comb on the bench. It won nothing except an NAS tag. Reason? It was a ling heather comb and thus not for extracting in the opinion of the judge. How out of date can you get? We had been extracting heather honey for 30 years at that time. He also, on another occasion, showed a deep comb of raspberry honey drawn on virgin foundation, absolutly flat and sealed corner to corner, also obtained from us, and similarly got an NAS. Deep combs are not for extracting apparently. Very perverse.

The final reason never to enter? As a professional you are on a hiding to nothing.

[gavin]

There's a novice class at the Dundee show for those who've never exhibited before. You'd walk that! You might win £3 for a First ....

The idiosyncracies of the judging are what makes it all fun/frustrating/idiotic. I've had more exhibits rejected than accepted for all sorts of technical reasons you never hear about beforehand. Or maybe I wasn't listening. Air under the lid, wrong kind of box for comb, underweight, heather not jelled (yet), you name it.

[Jon]

However, to echo what some have hinted at, we have sold honey to people who then exhibited it.

I know one guy who scours the country looking for perfect sections to enter in the shows.
Anyone entering someone else's honey in a show to win the £3 prize or the kudos needs their head examined imho.

[Mellifera Crofter]

I almost wish I haven't heard of all these sad people spoiling some fun - or what should be just a little fun get-together, and lending support to who-ever organised the show. I still believe nothing like that happens in Aberdeenshire (except if the person C4U mentioned is one of our lot!) and I'm just blind!

Last year our judge (AR) left us helpful notes under the jars.

Somebody gave me a bee-keeping book that was written in 1950 in which the author mentions 'tall and squat honey jars', and that the squat ones were taking over. They were introduced so that the spoon doesn't sink into the honey, but he thought honey looks better in the tall jar. I suppose the jars we now use must be the squat ones - but does anybody have pictures of the tall jars?

Kitta

[busybeephilip]

Well, IMO, anyone entering someone else's hard work should be outright black listed for ever. I have heard of beekeepers doing such things too. It seems that the practice of entering the same jar/product year after year is wide spread. Two ways of looking at that, either the person is simply cheating or it is regarded that the entry is the best regardless of age so is there to be beaten.

I dont agree with re-entering the same thing show after show, once it has been judged, IMO, sentence has been passed, it should not be given a second chance and perhaps should be marked permanently, eg one could use food dye for this purpose or a stamp on the wax

What do the rest of u guys think ?

[Honeybunch]

Yes a local show can be fun, Mellifera Crofter. It is challenging to prepare for each category and aim for perfection especially with the wax. Top prize winners should bow out and give someone else a chance next time. For beekeepers who live alone, preparing for the honey show can be quite therapeutic after a bereavement, filling in time previously devoted to caring. Some of the displays at the National Honey Show are stunning, and Carrick Academy did an amazing display in October 2013, which encourages young people to take up beekeeping.

[Greengage]

I thought I was going to get chewed out for suggesting that I would hate to win one of these cups, but it looks like I am not in the minority. If you look at the prize giving it is the same people all the time that win, now fair play to them if thats what your into. I was thinking of buying the winners honey and repackaging it and entering it again to see what the reaction would be, (Being Mischievous) bit like in the film Calender girls where your woman bought the cake that won.
I was at a poultry fancy show earlier in the year and the was blue murder because the top show bird on Championship corner was not owned or bred by the winner it was purchased in England after winning a number of shows and then hawked around Ireland by its new owner and won again. This year at another show I know the same thing will happen again as birds are brought in. But back to the bees from what I have heard there is a lot of black arts involved in producing honey for show and I dont think it would be very palatable to eat some of it.

The Duck won ha ha. First prize Rosette, Gone for breeding next season.

[Bumble]

I've had a go at local shows, it can be fun if you don't take it too seriously and aren't too bothered if you win or not. Talking to some of the winners means I've learned a lot, far more than from those at the club who are quite dismissive of all the effort needed to win a blue ribbon at local and national level. At least my honey doesn't have bits of bees in it!

Even so, it does seem wrong that some people use the same winning block of wax or same jar of honey year after year, but how to stop it? If somebody's so bothered about winning a cardboard certificate that they buy in honey or comb and pretend it's their own, then maybe more's lacking in their life than mine?

[Greengage]

After being critical initially, I got to act as a steward at a honey show last weekend, very long ,tireing and busy day. it was interesting to follow the judges around and see what was involved. Unfortunatly a lot of competitors got eliminated before the judge even got to look at he honey, wrong lids out, wrong jar out, Honey entered in wrong section out and on and on it went, if people read the schedule they would have had a good chance. for the wax blocks it said wax blocks must be 1 oz each in weight only one entry followed the rule. I have a lot more to say on the subject, but am working on something else and will get back to it if people are interested.

[The Drone Ranger]

A charity established in Dundee called the Claverhouse group entered the Dundee show in the beginners class I think
(Gavin might remember better than me)
Florida was a first year beekeeper at the time and when they won a prize the publicity it got helped them raise funding to do their work with the long term unemployed
Changes in Government policy mean Claverhouse has disappeared now



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[Jon]

Theresa May disbanded the charity because the wax block was 2g underweight apparently!
The Trustees are serving lengthy jail sentences.

[The Drone Ranger]

Lol!

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