... and who-said-the-English-were-eccentric? #2. Ever since that classic photo of Snelgrove with a bee beard on the front cover of his 1934 book, people have been trying to do better. The Guiness World Record was set in California in 1998 with 350,000 yellow bees weighing 39.7 kg! This photo (courtesy Michael Maloney) was the latest UK attempt by Philip McCabe who 'only' managed to attract 27kg of British black bees before giving up when his feet went to sleep! He was raising money for Bees for Development and the Irish Charity Bóthar both of which sponsor beekeeping projects in developing countries.