Burt's Bees gets #wildforbees in London

Last night Burt's Bees presented 3 short films directed by and starring Isabelle Rossellini in a pop-up cinema at The Calthorpe Project in the heart of London. This might sound random but it was all in the name of raising awareness of the importance of bees in the UK and around the world.
Hosted by Lucy Siegle (who looked very Kate Middleton-esque it was just fabulous) "Burt Talks To The Bees" was shown under a canopy while we lounged on bean bags, sipped on Honey Dripper cocktails and nibbled on canapes that were super yummy (and there were veggie options!) and all based around bees. They either contained pollen itself like the Chicken Parfait Macaroons or consisted of flowers and vegetables that had to be pollinated by bees in order to grow. It was such a wonderful evening and the short films were a very funny and tongue-in-cheek way of getting the message across of what bees need in order to continue to thrive in the environments we have created.

 Chicken Parfait Macaron with Bee Pollen (Pollen is gathered by the honey bee) & Cucumber, Borage Flower & Minted Goat's Curd & Broad Bean Cups (Cucumber, Borage Flower, Mint and Broad Beans are bee pollinated)

Table display and products lined up along the bridge and hanging from the trees, cute!

The films were followed by talks from Margaret McHugh - Burt's Bees Marketing manager, Tim Lovett - The British Bee Keepers' Association's Director Of Public Affairs and Richard Reynolds - founder of The Guerilla Gardener. We were also spoken to by a spokesperson for The Calthorpe Project. Each of these speakers was able to bring a different perspective on the importance of the survival of bees. We weren't just told from the perspective of someone who was passionate about beekeeping but also from the perspective of a huge company who not only benefit from bees themselves but who provide us with products to improve our skin and health.
Before showing the feature film of "The Secret Lives of Bees" we had a Q&A session with the speakers to clear up any questions that we may have pondered over the course of the talks.

Me and Pip outside the pop-up cinema with our yum drinks

I can't recreate those talks at all but you can find out more by visiting www.burtsbees.co.uk (click!).
If this sounds like something you might be interested in you might also like to visit the following websites to learn more about the tiny changes you can make to allow the bees that are so vital to our lifestyles to continue :
British Bee Keepers' Association / Adopt A Beehive
The Guerrilla Gardener
The Calthorpe Project

It really is a brilliant cause to get involved with - once you've seen the films and read more about this Wild For Bees campaign I hope it makes you feel the same way I do now... I won't be squealing and swatting at bees while I try enjoy some Pimms in the sun. I'd rather plant some flowers like lavender or clematis (a little further away than me and my Pimms!) and let the bees go about their buzziness (ha! bee banter or WHAT!!) and let them continue to make honey and wax and lay 16,000 baby bee eggs a day so we can all live happily ever after.