'I was a paralegal for 20 years, now I'm a Suffolk beekeeper'
"After 20 years of being a paralegal in various different fields like criminal and special educational needs, I needed a change," Mrs Middleditch explained.She initially took an introduction to beekeeping course at West Suffolk College before setting up hives on her and her husband's farm."We had bees on the farm so the family literally said to me, 'Why don't you do for others what you do for us?'," she continued."So, I thought, 'OK, OK, let's give this a go'."At the time, her son Jonathan had returned home from school and he now helps her with the bees.She said her two careers could not be further apart."With the bees, when you're out there and you've opened a hive, you are in that moment and it is so therapeutic," she said. "It is wonderful."
Mrs Middleditch regularly attended markets and said she enjoyed the community feel of them."You not only have a wonderful family within all the stallholders, but you also have customers coming back to you and they are literally my friends now."The family element the business was key, Mrs Middleditch said, with her daughter, Lottie, helping her with marketing and social media, while she hoped Jonathan would one day take over the business.The Make a Change event can be attended in person from 08:00 to 16:00 BST on Wednesday.You can also listen live on BBC Radio Suffolk and on BBC Sounds.
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