In case anyone missed the update about the book that was sent to all subscribers from John Mitchinson, the book's publisher, on 22nd August 2016, you can read it again here:

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Dear Subscriber,

I am writing to apologise for the ridiculous length of time we have taken to produce Letters to a Beekeeper. 



I can’t think of any other book that I’ve been involved in that has had such a complicated…

Dear supporters,

It’s been a long time since we updated you and we’re sure many of you are keen to know what is happening with Letters to a Beekeeper. 



Without going into all the details, various personal and professional commitments mean we’ve fallen a long way behind our schedule in 2015. It’s been really frustrating. More than anything else, we want this book finished and on our shelves. …

Dear All,

My bees are alive. Each day I wander up to the allotment and nervously glance in their direction. ‘Are you still there?’ I whisper. Sometimes I see a few flying and my heart leaps; other times I peek under the mesh floor and see the dead littered and my heart sinks.

After badgering Steve with tales of dead bees, he appeared between flurries of weather to douse them with medicine to…

I took it upon me to make us a 

Hope you're having fun writing in Marrakesh, 

Love

A

Never mow around your beehives in shorts!

In fact never mow around your bee hives at all - they really don't like that noise and the disturbance.

I use an old sickle around the legs and entrances of hives in the summer months to keep the flight path clear. Then again on London rooftops, grass and lawns are not really a problem.

Steve B

'Gardeners should…

In the beginning, there was Steve and a tractor. 

Then Steve met Alys and they met John

Who brought along Isobel and an idea was hatched.

Shortly after people pledged, ideas became words and then pictures and more ideas 

Seed was sown, things grew, 

But Alys got lost.

Luck brought Lucy,

Who wanted a garden, but got a book in the bargain.

Lucy brought Ian, who has a lovely…

Since I last wrote I have:

- Consumed 1.5kg of wood sage honey

- Read one book on plant pollinator interactions

- Started two books on British bees

- Re-read three books by Derek Jarman

- Lost six hours to Rightmove looking for my 'Prospect Cottage'

- Planted 1000 pollinator friendly bulbs

- Spotted my first bumblebee queen of the season

- Germinated 11 bee bee tree…

Dear all,

You believed in us and oh boy does that feel great. We’ve been walking so tall from this experience and that is all thanks to you. We’d kind of like to knock on each and every door and say thanks in person, but we have a book to write and meadow to grow. Take this as a great big hug. We still can’t quite believe it happened so fast. It’s been a lovely, life-affirming three weeks.

We wanted to say a little bit more about where your money has gone. The money you raised pays for the photography, the editing, the layout, for some PR once it’s written, and for it to be bound and printed in a marvelous way. If we raise extra money, we’d like to put a bit more into photography, but mostly, the profit gets split between Unbound and us. Thus, if there’s any spare we get to buy cake and biscuits to fuel our writing. What we’re trying to say is that the money raised doesn’t go straight into our bank account; it goes into your book. If you upgrade your pledge, can persuade your friends to buy it and continue to share the …