Poppy Liddle, 8, is junior beekeeper to Rolls-Royce bee farm

By CARSIFU | 24 May 2021


LONDON: British lass Poppy Liddle is just 8 years old but already has a "bee-sy" responsibility.

Poppy has been appointed the first-ever junior beekeeper at Rolls-Royce Motor Cars apiary in Goodwood.

She caught the attention of Rolls-Royce when her plight was highlighted in a local weekly newspaper. According to the news report, her beloved beehive was stolen in early May.

In a gesture of empathy, Rolls-Royce arranged for her to visit the Goodwood apiary, home to possibly the world's best-known (and certainly most palatial) colony of English honey bees.

Poppy, her dad and step-mum were picked up from Poppy's school in a Rolls-Royce Ghost and chauffeur-driven to the Rolls-Royce headquarters in Goodwood. There, she was introduced to beekeeper Jason Hampton, and some of the apiary's 300,000 hardworking inhabitants. She was also presented with a special certificate confirming her as the marque's first-ever junior beekeeper, signed by Richard Carter, who combines serving as chief beekeeper with his role as the company's director of global communications.

P90422830-highRes


Before leaving, Poppy was given a jar of "Rolls-Royce of Honey", made by the Rolls-Royce bees and usually reserved exclusively for clients and other VIPs. She will be returning to the Home of Rolls-Royce later in the season when this year's honey harvest is collected.

Poppy is part of what has just become a worldwide team with the launch of a second Rolls-Royce apiary in Dubai to mark World Bee Day on May 20. The worldwide event, first held in 2017, is a United Nations initiative designed to raise awareness of the global importance of bees and beekeeping in world food production, biodiversity, environmental conservation and climate change.

Like the original at the Home of Rolls-Royce, the Dubai Apiary comprises six hives named "Phantom", "Ghost", "Wraith", "Dawn", "Cullinan" and "Spirit of Ecstasy". Each hive, specially designed to withstand Dubai's climate, is home to a population of around 60,000 bees, ruled by an "Emirati Queen" bee supplied by the Abu Dhabi Agriculture and Food Safety Authority.

Keywords