Like many beekeeping novices, I began with a conventional, framed hive – the kind with sloped-sided outer boxes familiar from children’s books. Soon, I acquired a couple more and began to realize that if I was to continue along this road, I would have to build myself a big shed in which to house all the spare woodwork and other paraphenalia that was rapidly accumulating – and I would have to find a way to pay for all the ‘extras’ I would soon be needing.