Sheep shearing demo at Surrey Library in Cloverdale

Last Saturday at the Surrey Museum in Cloverdale, I had the rare chance to watch a professional shear a sheep.

Martin is wearing his special anti-slip shearing shoes, but the sheep has managed to slide off the demo board. It can't be easy to keep a sheep calm as you turn on the clippers. The shearer starts with the belly and turns the animal as needed so he gets the fleece off in a single piece.

Before he clips away the less valuable belly wool and rolls the fleece, it resembles a coat that somebody just took off.

In the traditional Australian song we sang as children, the sheep were sheared by hand. Sheep shearing competitions provided exciting entertainment.

"Click go the shears, boys, click click click..."