Taken from Lynne’s weekly column ‘Green Scene’ for the Western Mail
23rd November 2019
Hive Aid
I know it’s not even December yet but I have been asked to recommend Christmas presents for those people who have everything – as if I should know what those people want! But as it happens, I do have a few original ideas and am sharing them now so you have time to order and arrange if you want to.
This week’s recommendations are about bee-ing helpful to our honey bees.
The National Bee Centre Wales have a fabulous scheme called Hive Aid, where you can adopt one of their hives.
When you join Hive Aid you will be supporting Welsh bees (did you know that Welsh honey bees are historically the most placid, whilst their Italian cousins are the most volatile?) and safeguarding them for future generations. You’ll learn all about these fascinating creatures and what the National Beekeeping Centre for Wales is doing to protect them. Plus you will get a great welcome pack that includes an amazing factsheet, quarterly updates about your own hive and the opportunity to visit your hive with your beekeeper. Children will receive a candle-rolling kit, a hand-knitted bee, and a bee badge and as a special ‘Thank-You’ from your bees, you will also receive a jar of honey from your own hive. All for just £30 a year.
There are three hives to choose from, Eirlys, Willow, Hafwen or Heather. Each hive has its own story and its own character, and you’ll be updated on their bee-haviour through the year. And you can pay by cheque. Good old fashioned values!
Find out more from www.hiveaid.co.uk , phone them on 01492 651106 or email at hiveaid@beeswales.co.uk.
Bee Accommodating
Bees for Development have created a fabulous Bee House for honey bees. The Bee House provides the right sized cavity for a honey bee colony to build its nest and live naturally by replicating the space in a hollow tree, which simply provides a nesting space for honey bees. It is not a beehive and you will not harvest honey but you will be providing accommodation for wild honey bees – so you can help bees without being a beekeeper.
The Bee House is endorsed by world renowned scientist, Professor Tom Seeley, who says, “The Bee House designed by Bees for Development matches the housing preferences of European honey bees, so by mounting one on a tree or building, you will help sustain the population of wild honey bee colonies in your region.”
For more details and lots of other gift ideas at www.beesfordevelopment.org.
Mad Hatter
Harvard Medical School states, “Ideally, the weather would stay just at 80.6 degrees F. At that temperature, the naked, resting human body is “thermoneutral”: the heat it generates matches the heat lost to the air around it.”
As much as we all love Wales, we know that a consistent 80 degrees F in summer is ‘unlikely’, let alone during the winter months.
But did you know that if your head is uncovered you could potentially lose up to 50% of your body heat in cold-weather conditions. What’s more, a cold head can trigger blood vessel constriction in the other parts of the body, so it can actually make your hands and feet feel colder even if you are wearing gloves and warm socks and boots.”
I love hats and am renowned for my wearing of them. To be honest, far from being a dedicated (or medicated) follower of fashion, it is often to disguise an all-to-often Bad Hair Day, or to ‘hide under’, but the recent snowy snap reminded me just how important hats are for warmth. It may sound obvious if you are a hardcore ‘outdoorser’ but keeping the heat in from the head down, is often overlooked by many, especially on short outdoor trips. Apparently for maximum benefit, you should ensure those ears are covered too as your ear canals are a direct route for cold air to enter your body. Brrr. Makes me cold even thinking about it.
Interestingly, I have noticed that I always seem to feel the cold before the fellas do on site. A bit of research shows that it’s because the external temperature at which men’s and women’s bodies begin conserving heat — called the set point temperature — varies by about 3°.
When surrounding temperatures drop to a certain point, your body will conserve heat by shutting off the blood flow to the hands and feet, making them feel chilled. For women, that temperature is about 70°, while men can hold steady until about 67° or 68°.
Did you know that the term “Mad as a Hatter” came about because hat makers used to use mercury to finish the product? Mercury is toxic and prolonged use can cause nerve damage, driving hat makers to madness.
My own range of hats is appreciated by most. The trouble is I forget that they are a bit unusual and wonder why I get the funny looks! The French-born, American milliner Lilly Dache observed: “A hat is an expression of a woman’s soul. It is something that she wears on her head, but it belongs to her heart. It is the keynote of her personality, the finishing touch that makes her look beautiful, smart and sure of herself.”
Say no more …
As my sight worsens, your weekly messages become more and more inaccesable. IS it possible to access an audio version? TA xxxxxxxxxxxxx