‘Back in the 1960s’ was when I made my first bumbling attempt at beekeeping.

It really does seem a long time ago now, and it was a time before the internet, so there wasn’t the vast pool of online information that is currently available - only a ‘man in a van’ who came around once in a while to sell the essentials and to tell you where you had gone wrong. 

I was not even aware of the local beekeeping association until years later,