There was a great turnout for the April meeting of the Sparkling Wye WI which is based in Ross-on-Wye.

The speaker, Ben Champness, gave a talk about bees and honey. First of all he explained about the life cycle of a bee, and also about the different types of honey produced, some of the cheap ones being made in China and consisting of simply sugar and water.

There was then the chance to try different honeys and mark them by popularity. Ben had also brought along a selection of “tools” that he used in bee-keeping. Members were invited to take part in a quiz to suggest what each one might be used for.

He first gave the results of the tasting, and was delighted to report that his honey was the second most popular by a very narrow margin to another local honey, with the cheap basic supermarket brand coming last. He recommended sticking to local honey.

Six people bravely attempted the quiz, scoring was not high, but the winner was Annie Fisher. Julie Morgan gave the vote of thanks.

Business and a round-up of future social events, including a litter pick, a trip to Oxford and another theatre visit were discussed. The meeting closed with refreshments and a raffle.

SWWI meets on the second Wednesday of each month at 8pm at Ross Conservative Club, in The Avenue.