Not a man from Star Wars - just a bee-keeper
Barnet and District Bee-keepers Association, as part of their aim to support Barnet bee-keepers and promote the hobby of bee-keeping, have trained five new bee-keepers who live in the N3 and N12 area of LB Barnet.
Two of the new bee-keepers are setting up beehives in a new Apiary at Finchley Church End . The Apiary will be on an allotment plot and is specially screened, approved and welcomed by their Allotment Association Committee
As part of their training as bee-keepers they all undertook the B&D BKA winter bee-keeping course which consisted of ten Saturday afternoon lectures, practical experience and mentorship this spring and summer each Saturday on a B&D BKA bee-hive. They will continue to get support until they are experienced bee-keepers.
At the new Finchley Church End allotment apiary the new bee-keepers are now making their first beehive for their nucleus of bees which is being prepared at the B&D BKA apiary in Totteridge Vale.
If you a find a swarm of honey bees in Finchley, then Barnet and District Bee-keepers in association with Barnet Council will collect them (no fee) and rehouse them. Mr Clive Cohen the B&D district swarm collector can be contacted via Barnet Council or through the link below but cannot deal with wasp nests.
Finchley has a long association with bee-keeping as the eminent Victorian Bee-keeper and Naturalist, William Bernhuad Tegeitmere, who was a close friend of Charles Darwin, lived in the 1870’s in Alexandra Grove, N12 and is buried in East Finchley Cemetery. Barnet & District Bee-keepers Association has been around for almost as long as they are celebrating their 100th year and hope to continue supporting local bee-keepers for at least another hundred years
The Barnet & District Bee-keepers Association email address for rescuing swarms is swarms@barnetbeekeepers.org and their website is at www.barnetbeekeepers.org/sections/Apiarists/swarms.htm
The Finchley Arrow 
Monday, 27 June, 2011 at 12:09 pm
How lovely to have local beehives and, in time I hope, to be able to buy local honey.(No food miles!)
I hope there will continue to be local gardens to provide the necessary nectar and that the move towards concrete for cars instead of plants for bees is halted.
Maggie Airey
Monday, 27 June, 2011 at 12:39 pm
Yes, local honey would be nice. Did you know there was a beehive in Finchley’s Pastures in Long Lane? And honey is a wonderful antiseptic, germs can’t live in it. In my youth I had cut my hand and my girlfriend poured honey on the wound and bandaged it up. Next morning she took the bandage off and my hand had almost healed! It was amazing.
Monday, 27 June, 2011 at 5:04 pm
I have just been informed by one of our team that the man’s name is William Bernhardt Tegetmeier and not as we have spelled it; My colleague says he expects he had a Dutch or Belgian grandfather! He lived to the ripe old age of 96 (1816-1912).
On the other hand Wikipedia is not perfect and they may have got it wrong.