A BEAUTIFUL July morning saw Middlewich U3A members gathered for their monthly social morning.

Chairman, Sue Johns, announced various breaks for the summer. Lettuces, green beans, broad beans and a cabbage from their own allotment were offered to members with a request for donations to U3A. The produce had been picked that very morning and the beans are reported to be delicious!

The speaker for the meeting was George Pilkington, an ex-policeman from Liverpool who now devotes his time to the study and promotion of bumble bees and worms. George’s talk was entitled “Attracting Bumble Bees to your Garden” and he told of his love of the creatures and how the lack of a suitable nesting box prompted him to design and build his own. These boxes are now used all over the UK and surprisingly, in Norway.

They were told the lifecycle of bees and the best plants to use to encourage them. Bees will not sting you and they are essential for the pollination of fruit and vegetables. Suggested plants include, willow, crocus and primrose. Bees make their nests in holes and cracks whereas the Tree bumble bee nests, unsurprisingly in trees. It was a very interesting and informative talk.

The next social morning will be on Monday, August 11, with Mar Bevan’s guide around “The Real Downton Abbey of Cheshire”. For more information about Middlewich U3A, please contact Sue Johns on 01606 834900 or 07903783129.

Susan leicester