Peter Stevenson, treasurer of Peeblesshire Beekeepers Association brings us details on honey extraction...

“The best way to extract honey is in the nude”, says the beekeeping sage. It certainly can be a sticky business, but the local beekeepers did not go to those lengths for their processing demonstration.

Equipment cleaned, overalls donned, hair tied back and covered, dogs banished - all ready.

The most fiddly method, but usually the quickest, is to use the extractor. The general principle is to birl the frames around inside a steel drum, the honey flies out the comb and settles to the bottom of the tank. Now you know how in every washing machine there is a heavy weight that stops it from jumping round the kitchen? Well honey extractors don't come with that. So you need an assistant to lean on the drum as the handle turner shows off their speed. Exhausted by this effort the extracting crew are rewarded by the sight of the liquid gold gushing out through the tap at the bottom of the tank.

Elsewhere in the kitchen a more sedate occupation is taking place. Cut comb honey is literally just that. For spinning the foundation is thick and strengthened with wire, but thin for cut comb. Then it is straightforward to slice up chunks of comb.

The last technique, is the most destructive but somehow the most satisfying. The combs are cut out of the frames, mushed up in a bucket, dumped in a cloth bag and squished in a press. The joy comes from seeing the honey pour forth a little more each time the handle is turned.

Ling heather honey is thixotropic – this means it is gel like, and can't be spun out. The folk toiling with the extractor were not best pleased when this bit of science was revealed. As is often the case the local bees there is a mix of honey on the combs. Some honey spins out, the rest remains glued to the frames. What to do? More mushing!

It's been a sunny day and the host's bees are out flying. In fact, looking out the kitchen window, we can see a lot of them around one particular car. Could this be the car that has had some honey frames tidied away into it? Could this be the car that was only purchased the day before? Could this be the car whose owner has not quite figured out how to close the windows properly? Oh dear – an invitation to the bees who have taken advantage and are flying excitedly around inside the vehicle.

The sheepish car owner donned a bee suit, removed the free honey buffet to the far end of the garden. Happily the bees vacated in a short time.

Although tired and sticky, we were pleased with the days work. A decent harvest and as usual the thought that next year will be glorious for both bees and honey.