A HIVE OF ACTIVITY
As Editor, there’s nothing better than unexpectedly discovering a local gem. This month, I was walking along Northcote Road in the crisp autumn air and stumbled across The Hive Honey Shop. Stepping inside, not only did I discover 20,000 live bees in a beehive housed in a 5ft glass case on the wall, but the fascinating owner James Hamill, who is a third-generation beekeeper. James has been a beekeeper since he was five years old and in 1995 he was awarded a QEST (Queen Elizabeth Scholarship Trust) Scholarship for Beekeeping & Bee Disease by Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth, the Queen Mother. Every jar of honey in The Hive Honey Shop is handmade and its contents come from all around the world.
“Honey is going to be like caviar. In fact, I think it’s going to be more expensive than caviar. It’ll be the most expensive food commodity in the next 50 years. You’re going to look back and think ‘ My God, I used to go to the supermarket and there were shelves full of it”
During our impromptu conversation, James told me his prediction for the future of honey: “Honey is going to be like caviar. In fact, I think it’s going to be more expensive than caviar. It’ll be the most expensive food commodity in the next 50 years. You’re going to look back and think ‘ My God, I used to go to the supermarket and there were shelves full of it”. It’s becoming known that bees are currently under threat and there are now more challenges, he adds: “The latest news is that there’s a hornet from Asia that’s going to take out about 80% of the beehives in this country. There’s no way to track them or eradicate them and this was only discovered a few weeks ago”. If you’re looking for unique gifts, I’d recommend a trip to The Hive Honey Shop. James told me what products are most popular this year: “The things that people love at Christmas is our pure
beeswax candles and English Honey & Cinnamon and English Ling Honey from Dorset”. Bees play a crucial role in our ecosystem and their plight is increasingly
worrying, so it was a real joy to meet a passionate local that’s fighting on their behalf – with the late Queen Mother’s approval, no less! And I can attest that his bees also make wonderful pots of honey, an ideal Christma gift for all foodies. Continue reading…