OKEHAMPTON Beekeepers recently held their successful Branch Honey Show at Church House, Sampford Courtenay.

Exhibits were staged from 6.45pm and judging commenced from 7.30pm onwards, while members adjourned for their first winter branch meeting.

This was the usual question and answer session chaired by Ray King and looked back on events of the preceding season. Discussions ranged from the efficacy of using icing sugar as a Varroa control mechanism, advice on how to rescue a queen in a failing colony in autumn, to reports of possible dangers associated with the use of beet sugar for feeding.

At 9pm the Okehampton Branch Honey Show secretary Malcolm Craig and branch president and honey judge Jim Sampson announced that the judges had made their decisions and to move upstairs to view the exhibits.

Judging this year was by Mr Sampson (classes 1 to 12) and Angela Searle (cookery classes 13 to 16). The judges complemented exhibitors on the general standard of the entries.

Mr Sampson presented trophies to the winners: the Heard cup, for the exhibitor scoring the most points in classes 1 to 9 (bottled and comb honey, mead and beeswax), Malcolm Craig; the Furze cup, exhibitor scoring second highest points in classes 1 to 9, won jointly by George and Tony West and Ray King; the Howarth trophy, scoring most in the bottled honey classes 1 to 4, Malcolm Craig; the Foreman trophy, overall winner of the cut comb class 5, Ray King; the West trophy, best extracted (bottled) honey exhibit, Malcolm Craig.

The West trophy is new — a silver plate presented recently to the branch by George and Mary West.

The Cookery cup, for most points in classes 13 to 16, was awarded to Janet Grist.

Mr Craig concluded the evening with a brief talk on the history of the Church House, Sampford Courtenay.