Former Royal Navy Commander and barrister, Penny Melville-Brown, was elected as the Chairman of the Fareham and District Beekeepers’ Association last week. The hives of over 100 members of this thriving organisation stretch from the coast at Gosport to the countryside north of Wickham. Their bees pollinate local plants and trees, gardens and crops and produce top-class real honey that many sell.
Penny said, “I confess that I leave the bee-suit to my husband, Alan Baxter, who has all the knowledge and experience of practical beekeeping alongside his Asian Hornet expertise https://www.alanbaxtersblogs.co.uk/ . But I’ve learned masses and am fully involved in extracting and using the honey, making our mead and have even tried creating beeswax polish. Beekeeping can involve the whole family and introduces children to our natural world.”
The FDBKA provides friendly training and mentoring for new beekeepers, shared learning opportunities for the more experienced, regular meetings, loan equipment, apiary visits, an annual honey show, speakers for other organisations and a great supply of local honey for hay-fever sufferers and lovers of good food. Find out more and how to get involved at https://farehambka.co.uk/ .
Penny is supported by a great team committed to growing and strengthening the skills of Association members to maintain their ancient craft in the face of climate change, the Asian Hornet threat and other challenges to our environment.
She was still serving in the Royal Navy when her sight failed before launching a new career running her own business, holding a wide range of public appointments and roles in voluntary organisations before winning an international prize for blind people, cooking around the world and publishing the book of her adventures. She has been awarded an OBE and Honorary Doctorate https://www.pennymelvillebrown.com/