WELL-KNOWN fundraiser Jean "Bee Lady" Bishop is hoping to hit her £100,000 target in the coming months.
Jean, who this month turned 91, is a well-recognised face on the streets of Hull – dressing as a bee to collect for Age UK.
Since beginning her quest in the late 1990s, she has raised almost £92,000.
Jean said: "I'll be carrying on until I reach my target of £100,000.
"But to be honest, I don't want to stop there, so once I get there I guess I'll just start again.
"If I can get out in the nice weather I think I could hit £100,000 in a couple of months."
Jean, who lives in west Hull, says she is always touched by the kindness of people who go over and speak to her when she is shaking her collection tin.
She said: "I can't say a bad word about anyone – they're always so lovely to me.
"I get lots of £20 notes going in, people are very generous.
"People recognise me too, they shout 'hello busy bee' in the street."
Laughing, she added: "One day I was at the bus stop in town, not in my costume, and someone said 'oh, I almost didn't recognise you with your costume off'."
Jean began collecting for Age UK when it was known as Age Concern, back in the summer of 1996. Her first location to raise money was at Paragon Interchange.
A fundraiser from the charity's Hull base hired a bee costume for her to wear, which she had spotted on a trip to London.
Jean said: "She knew I liked dressing up, as I'd also been Father Christmas for them.
"But re-hiring the bee costume from London was getting expensive.
"So my daughter Jennifer made one for me out of some hula-hoops and some coloured fur."
Last summer, Jean famously swapped her bee costume for the tracksuit of an Olympic torch-bearer, when she completed a leg of the relay in Holderness Road.
On Tuesday, Jean was out collecting at Bransholme's North Point Shopping Centre and says she hopes to get out a bit more now the weather is improving.
She said: "Over the years, I've got to do some great things – I've opened new shops and met lots of people.
"People give me lots of lovely presents and get me bee teddies.
"I love collecting the money and meeting everyone, especially the little children.
"Everyone is so nice and friendly and they always wave and say hello."
