A friend who I told I have just left the SBA replied
Oh no did you jump or were you pushed??
So heres what I told them:-
No I just left
It seems the SBA is a sort of beekeeping equivalent of the TUC
Largely concerned with organising the Local Beekeeping Associations
It does this by organising conferences lectures honey shows etc.
It sees itself as an organisation comprised of mainly activists
In the same way a trade unionist would not join the TUC as an individual
rather than as part of a union,it doesn't make sense to join the SBA on
that basis either.
Individuals views will not be canvassed only activists in the
organisation will be heard.
Nothing wrong with that as long as its made clear before joining
Up till now I have wrongly thought it was an umbrella organisation for
all beekeepers particularly ones who are unable, or find it difficult,
to become members of a local association
That's why I joined and paid my subscription although only making use of
the magazine subscription and the insurance cover. Being truthful the
magazine has been pretty poor over the years.
I have no interest in meetings conferences honey shows etc.
Most of the Stances the SBA have adopted conflict with my own opinions
so it doesn't make sense to help fund and validate them by continued
membership
These include - compulsory registration of all beekeepers, breeding for
resistance, Gm crops, Amm Bibba backing, global warming, flooding the
country with feral bees,the list goes on and on.
So it seems do I, but it has no effect,its water off a ducks back to the activists
who consider they are the only real members of the SBA.
I tend to think (like Churchill) "they also serve who only sit and pay"
So I'm off to pastures new where I hope I will have less to moan about :)