The Croydon Honey Show is our annual celebration of bees and beekeeping and will be held this year on Saturday 17th September 11:30am-3pm at The Selsdon Community Centre (in the Sainsbury’s building), 132 Addington Road, Selsdon, CR2 8LA.
There is ample parking available in the Sainsbury’s car park and on Old Farleigh Road. The following bus routes serve Selsdon: 64, 357, 359, 409, 412, 433, 612, 654 & 685.
All are welcome
Visitors will be made very welcome, there’s no entrance charge – come and look at produce of the hive, see live bees in our observation hive, have a go at rolling a candle, enter our children’s colouring competition, learn about bees, and eat cake. We can’t promise as it is a natural product subject to seasonal availability but there should be local real honey available to buy at the show.
Honey Show competition
Another important part of the show for our members is entry into the various classes in the competition. We also have a number of classes in the Culinary, Candle Making and the Arts & Crafts category that anyone can enter. This year’s judge is National Honey Show Judge Bill Fisher and we have a local celebrity to award the prizes – Croydon’s own Darcey-Mae.
Bill Fisher is a leading judge and convenor at the National Honey Show (NHS). As well as being deeply knowledgeable himself, having won many cups at the NHS, he is always keen to encourage less experienced people to have a go. Darcey-Mae is one of our young beekeepers who was the winner of the BBC television show “Show Me The Honey!”.
The classes are as follows:
Honey
- Two 1lb jars of Light Honey.
- Two 1lb jars of Medium Honey.
- Two 1lb jars of Dark Honey.
- Two 1lb jars of Set Honey (Crystallised or Creamed).
- Two 1lb jars of Chunk Honey.
- Novice Class. One 1lb jar of clear honey, light, medium or dark, or one 1lb jar of crystallised honey, natural or creamed.
- Six matching jars of identical honey labelled as for sale. Rules 5 & 7 do not apply.
Comb
- Two similar containers of Cut Comb – each approximately 8ozs.
- One Comb of honey suitable for extraction.
- Heaviest Frame. A shallow BS frame, weight is the only criterion. Note that the winning frame may be marked so that it cannot be used in the following year. Showcases are not required.
Hive products
- One cake of Beeswax weighing between 7ozs and 9ozs.
- Six 1oz/28g blocks of Beeswax matching in all respects.
- One 75cl bottle of Mead or honey based wine – dry.
- One 75cl bottle of Mead or honey based wine – sweet.
- Honey beer or braggot, two bottles, minimum 330ml.
- One pair of Beeswax Candles – dipped. One candle will be lit by the judge.
- One pair of Beeswax Candles – rolled. One candle will be lit by the judge.
- One pair of Beeswax Candles – moulded. One candle will be lit by the judge.
(Non-members may enter classes 13 to 18)
Culinary
The Culinary classes are open to all, not just members. We would love to see entries from younger members of the public too.
- Honey Cake. Recipe: 7oz self-raising flour, 6oz honey, 4oz butter, 2 eggs, 6oz sultanas, 4oz glace cherries. Method: Cream butter and honey, beat eggs and add flour then fold in cherries and sultanas. A little milk can be added if necessary. Bake in a buttered 6 1⁄2″ to 7 1⁄2″ diameter circular tin for approximately 1 1⁄4 hours in a moderate oven.
- Six Honey Flapjacks. Recipe: 7oz butter, 7oz demerara sugar, 7oz honey, 14oz porridge oats, 2oz dried fruit. Method: Heat butter, sugar and honey. Add oats and fruit and mix well. Place in greased Swiss roll tin and spread to about 2cm thick. Bake at gas mark 4/350F/180C for 15-20 minutes. Cool in tin, then turn out and cut into squares.
- Honey Sweets or Chocolates. 1lb/454g. Recipe must be provided.
- Honey Preserve/Jam. One 1lb jar. Made with any recipe but using half sugar and half honey. Recipe must be provided with exhibit.
- Honey Chutney. One 1lb jar. Made with any recipe but using half sugar and half honey. Recipe must be provided with exhibit.
Art and Crafts
The Art and Crafts classes are also open to all, not just members. We would love to see entries from younger members of the public, preparing an exhibit is a great activity to pass some time in the holidays.
- Handicrafts. Any craft or art work related to beekeeping. Must be exhibitor’s own work.
- Greetings Card. Design for a Birthday card for a beekeeper.
- Honey Jar Label. A design for a label not exceeding A4 in size. Weight to be stated in Metric and Imperial units and the characters must be at least 4mm high when reduced to honey label size. The design must not have been entered previously in a Croydon Divisional Honey Show.
- General Interest Display. Anything which is unusual, original, novel or of general interest to do with beekeeping.
- Photography. Must be exhibitor’s own work and related to beekeeping but not a close- up.
- Photography. Colour print, close-up or macro, must be exhibitor’s own work and related to beekeeping.
Junior Beekeepers
New for 2022 is a category for any beekeeper or group under the age of 18 to enter.
- Junior Honey Class. One 1lb jar of clear honey, light, medium or dark, or one 1lb jar of crystallised honey, natural or creamed.
- The full schedule, rules and programme can be downloaded by clicking here and be viewed below.
- A PDF document of the classes can be downloaded by clicking here.
- The Entry Form can be downloaded by clicking here.
For non-members wishing to enter the Culinary and/or the Art & Crafts classes, please get your exhibits to the show as early as possible. There is a 30p fee for each entry. Judging takes place from 10.30am onwards so your entry must be in before then.
Programme
9.00 to 10.00am Staging – hand your labelled entries to a steward as early as possible between these times.
10.30 to 1.15pm Judging – members are invited to be present but must not ask the Judge or his Steward any questions or engage them in conversation unless invited to do so.
3.00pm Presentation of Cups and Awards.
Exhibits and displays are to be removed by 4.00pm.
Cups and Awards
The D J Campbell Cup will be awarded to the Croydon Member gaining most points in Classes 1 to 10.
The N T Haines Cup will be awarded to the Croydon Member who is a novice (one who has never won first, second or third in a honey class in a honey show) gaining most points in Class 6.
The Ellen Coates Memorial Plate for the best Honey Cake (Class 19).
The Kirkup Memorial Cup for the SBKA member gaining most points in Classes 1 to 10 other than the winner of the D J Campbell Cup.
The Mike Szilagyi Bursary (£10) awarded to the entrant who gains most points in the “Six for Sale” class.
The Collett Cup awarded for the best frame for extraction.
The Blue Ribbon or Certificate of Merit, depending on the number of entries, for the Best Exhibit in Show.
Rules
1. All exhibitors must be members of the British Beekeepers Association whose subscriptions for the current year have been paid. Non-members may enter Classes 13 to 30.
2. Entries should be made on the form provided and must reach the Show Secretary at least three days before the date of the Show. Exhibitors may make more than one entry in a class but no exhibitor may take more than one prize in any one class. Late entries and alterations may be accepted up to 9.45am on the day of the Show.
3. The entrance fee in all classes is 30p per exhibit.
4. A Novice is an exhibitor who has never won a 1st, 2nd or 3rd prize in a Honey Class in a Honey Show.
5. Labels are to be fixed as follows:
- on bottles and jars, 12mm from the bottom;
- on cut comb containers, one on the transparent lid with a duplicate on the front vertical face of the container;
- on the frames for extraction, one at the top righthand corner of the transparent face of the showcase with a duplicate on the frame.
Apart from the labels supplied by the Show Secretary, no means of identification may be placed on, or attached to, any exhibit, with the exception of Class 7.
6. All honey and wax produces must be made by the exhibitor or be from their own, or their family’s bees.
7. Extracted honey must be exhibited in clear 1lb squat round jars of British Standard pattern with standard lacquered lids with either seals or wadding, except in class 7.
8. Clear honey will be graded according to the British Standards Institution grading glasses and a set will be available on application to the Steward between 9.00am and 10.00am on the day of the Show.
9. Cut Comb must be displayed in standard 8oz plastic containers with transparent lids.
10. Combs for extraction are to be shown in cases glazed on both sides. The comb must be easily removable from the case.
11. Creamed honey is crystallised honey which is warmed and agitated by using a hand creamer or skewer in an electric drill (If using the latter method ensure someone is holding the jar in a cloth and the drill is operated slowly – otherwise you may get a creamed honey kitchen!).
12. Chunk honey is filled comb placed in a standard jar and topped up with clear honey, ensuring no air bubbles remain.
13. Mead or honey wine must be exhibited in plain, colourless glass round-section shouldered bottles with punt or half punt of approximately 1/6 gallon (75cl) capacity without ornament or added lettering of any kind and with flanged stoppers. It must have been made without sugar, but herbs or spices may be used if desired. No alcohol may be added.
14. Heaviest frames in Class 10 will be judged on weight only.
15. If any class has less than four entries actually shown it may, at the discretion of the Show Secretary, be amalgamated with another class before judging.
16. The Judge’s decision on the placing of exhibits shall be final and at his/her discretion prizes may be withheld.
17. Points will be awarded as follows: 1st – 10, 2nd – 7, 3rd – 4, Very Highly Commended – 3, HC – 2 , C – l point.
18. Entrants in Classes 13, 14, 15, 19, 20 & 21 may sample the winning entries subject to the consent of the winning exhibitor.
19. Any objection or dispute must be made before 2.45pm and shall be settled by the committee whose decision shall be final.
20. The decision of the committee on any matter whatsoever, under or in relation to the foregoing rules and regulations, or on any protest or objection in relation thereto or to any exhibit, shall be final and conclusive.