Since the COVID-19 Coronavirus ‘lockdown’ began, there’s not been much of a ‘buzz’ around Ruddington village centre on a Sunday. However, today it was a ‘hive’ of activity!
This was the scene as one motorist went to her car on Charles Street at lunchtime – to discover that a swarm of bees had taken rather a fancy to it! Alex Preston from The Bottle Top, who captured the image above, reported them to bee keeper Keith – who provides their High Street shop with local Thrumpton Honey. She was informed they would be ‘lookout’ bees searching for a new place to nest and should soon go.
However, the swarm spread to TWO cars – and Paul Carver, of Jasper’s Café, reports: “It got a lot worse than the pic suggests. The whole back of the car was covered. I didn’t stop around, though!!” Charles Street resident Sarah Godfrey adds: “The entire street was full of them and you couldn’t walk through!”
Sadly the bees had all gone by the time Ruddington apiarist Paul Witney (pictured below) arrived to try to collect them – which he assures us is quite possible (and safe) to do: “They are very docile in a swarm, contrary to common belief” he reveals. “Swarming is a natural instinct of Apis mellifera. Gutted that I missed them – I could do with another hive!”
