NEW blood is needed to help continue the work of the Bude Canal and Harbour Society. Since its construction, Bude Canal has played an important part, initially in employment and opportunity and currently again in a broader form of employment through tourism, but also through the leisure facilities it presents. Since 1990, there has been a grassroots-based charitable society that promoted the conservation, preservation, and restoration of the canal, together with the education of the public in relation to its history and use. Originally, the society was the Bude Canal Society, which, over time evolved into the current two groups: Bude Canal and Harbour Society (BCHS) and their colleagues, The Bude Canal Trust. Bude Canal Trust owns five miles of the canal, which is in Devon adjacent to the River Tamar. Bude Canal and Harbour Society, which is based in Bude, focuses on the canal from Bude to Helebridge, which is in water and is a much valued and used asset, while maintaining an interest in the inland former canal and structures. Both groups work in harmony and focus on what is best for Bude. For the full report, and a round-up of the area news and sport, see this week's edition of the Post.