THE sun shone, the surf was clean and the wild beauty of Bude's Crooklets beach provided the perfect backdrop to Bude Surf Life Saving Club's (SLSC) demonstration to VIP guest Graham Ford, President of SLSC Australia.

It was Mr Ford's first visit to Bude, and his first reaction after watching the exceptionally well-planned demo was one to behold.

"Fantastic!" he said, "it showed the real nature of the sport that is surf life saving, and underlined how big a part of this local community Bude SLSC is. Of course, I brought some sunshine for you from Bondi Beach..."

Supporters, onlookers and other club members waited eagerly for the 30-minute demo, and were guided by a running commentary from the club house. Members performed reel and line, torpedo tube rescue, and rescue boards — demonstrated by juniors, intermediate members and masters. The Nippers — aged from seven-to-eleven-years-old performed traditional flag run-offs, as well as a board rescue and wade out.

For the full report, and a round up of the area news and sport, please see this week's edition of the 'Post'.