Charles Clarke, failed beekeeper

For once, a reasonably good bee analogy from a non-beekeeper but excellent Parliamentary sketch-writer (who probably researched his bees a bit) Simon Hoggart. It's about a UK Government Minister trying to push through an ID cards bill in the clumsiest of fashions:

Charles Clarke yesterday introduced the second reading of the identity cards bill. He must have felt like a failed beekeeper, whose swarm has gone berserk. Every few seconds he had to bat away another ferocious attack.

... Mr Clarke gravely divided his speech into five sections and announced that he would take interventions at the end of each passage.

But demented insects don't understand that kind of thing, and they were up and buzzing round his head all the time he spoke.

... Finally Mr Clarke finished his speech, and was allowed to sit down. The bees seemed to relax too.

Non UK readers might be interested to know that Britain doesn't (yet) have ID cards and the subject always arouses passions and suspicions about invasion of privacy and Big Brother.