Disability advocate and former Royal Navy Commander and barrister Penny Melville-Brown, has achieved another milestone in a life of incredible accomplishment having been recently elected as chair of her local beekeeping branch in Hampshire.
Penny was still serving in the Navy when her sight started to fail, a health challenge that she refused to let hinder her ambition. She went on to launch a new career running her own business, as well as holding a wide range of public appointments and roles in voluntary organisations. She has since won an international prize for blind people, cooking around the world and publishing a book of her adventures, and has been awarded an OBE and Honorary Doctorate for her work in the field of disability.
Now, Penny has added another string to her bow, having recently been elected as chairman of the Fareham and District Beekeepers’ Association (FDBKA) – thought to be the first blind chair of a local beekeeping association in the UK.
Penny’s husband, Alan Baxter, is a qualified beekeeper himself and the British Beekeepers’ Association’s Asian Hornet Team Coordinator for Hampshire, as well as the FDBKA’s Education Officer. Alan was recently involved in assisting a team from the National Bee Unit in locating and removing a large yellow-legged Asian hornet nest in Southampton.
Diane Drinkwater, Chair of the British Beekeepers’ Association (BBKA), said:
“As far as we’re aware, this is a first in the history of the British Beekeepers’ Association. Penny is an inspiration to those around her and to all of us at the BBKA, demonstrating how individuals with sight loss can lead creative and influential lives.
“The members of Fareham and District Beekeepers’ Association are lucky to have Penny as their chair and we wish her all the very best in her new endeavour.”
Of her appointment as Chairman of FDBKA, Penny said:
“I confess that I leave the bee-suit to my husband, who has all the knowledge and experience of practical beekeeping alongside his yellow-legged Asian hornet expertise.
“But I’ve learned masses and am fully involved in extracting and using the honey, making our mead and have even tried creating beeswax polish.
“Beekeeping can involve the whole family and introduces children to our natural world.”
The FDBKA provides friendly training and mentoring for new beekeepers, shared learning opportunities for the more experienced, regular meetings, loan equipment, apiary visits, an annual honey show, speakers for other organisations and a great supply of local honey for hay-fever sufferers and lovers of good food.
Penny is supported by a great team committed to growing and strengthening the skills of Association members to maintain their ancient craft in the face of climate change, the yellow-legged Asian hornet threat and other challenges to our environment.