Drastic Action

Last weekend, while tinkering with my motorbike, I made a horrible discovery. Jammed into the seal between the head lamp and the front fairing, I found the body of a dead
honeybee. Having spent part of that day with Paul Templeton at his rather informative frame-assembly seminar, I was anxious that I hadn't reduced his colony of bees. Thankfully,
Paul assures me that he had not noticed any such reduction, but as a general mention, should any member feel that this bee may be one of theirs, I will happily compensate
them for their loss.

Later that same day, while at Tescos, shortly before being forcibly removed for acting suspiciously in the car park, I took time to examine the radiators of several parked cars. I cannot relate to you the horror of what I saw, tens upon tens of squashed bees. The vehicles on our roads must be taking an incredible toll on bee stocks all over the UK. Something has got to be done: whether it is to the design of the cars; to the speeds at which cars travel on the roads or to the motoring habits of the general public. It is very likely that the national bee population will not support such a level of needless bee mortality for much longer. If non-essential, non-emergency motoring activities were limited during the hours of 8am - 7pm in the spring and summer months, I imagine that national honey production could double if not treble.

I have been working on designs for a simple nose cone that can be fitted to most vehicles. This will aim to reduce bee-intake whilst not affecting the overall aero-dynamics of the vehicle. Plans are in their early stages at the moment" but I am hopeful that a design will be made available in the very near future. Until you obtain a nose cone for your car I advise you to cut down on non-essential journeys during the day time and, if you should need to travel during the day, you should travel at no more than thirty miles an hour .
Meanwhile, I have included a picture of the bee that I found so unnecessarily squashed on the front of my bike. Again, if anyone recognises it, do let me know.

Chad Cryer