'I think that we could all be a little more Jean'

DAVID WALLIAMS' TRIBUTE ON HULL'S FIRST BEE LADY DAY

- By DEBORAH HALL

HULL held its first ever Bee Lady Day in celebration of the late Jean Bishop, Hull's own bee lady, and David Walliams shared a special tribute ahead of it.

Yesterday saw events taking place across Hull and East Yorkshire in memory of Jean and her amazing feats of fundraising, dressed as a furry bumble bee, for Age UK Hull and East Yorkshire (Age UK HEY).

Jean was herself a client of Age UK HEY for over 30 years and dedicated much of her time to collecting funds in her trademark costume, before she sadly passed away in 2021 at the age of 99.

One of the accolades she received herself was at the Pride of Britain Awards in 2013, when actor, comedian and author David Walliams surprised her with the news. He recorded a message for Age UK HEY specially for Bee Lady Day.

He said: “I was lucky enough to spend some time with Jean Bishop, the Bee Lady, when I was surprising her for the Pride of Britain Awards. She was a very, very special lady.

“I feel privileged to have met her and the amazing work that she did, always with a smile on her face, always making people happy. So I'm super-excited that now there is Bee Lady Day for Age UK, a fantastic charity.

“I think Jean's story really tells us all no matter who we are, no matter how old we are, there's a lot of good we can do, in big ways and small ways. Jean is a legend for the fund raising community and I think we could all be a little more Jean.”