One of the attractions of the Rotary Club of the Eastern Seaboard is the regularity and variety of their entertaining and informative guest speakers.
This again was the case for their May meeting held on Thursday the 29th at the Siam Bayshore Hotel where they welcomed David C Holroyd.
David is the co-author along with his sister Tracy J Holroyd of a trilogy of books entitled The Perfect Pair. The first award winning book: “The Perfect Pair – The Enchanted Mirror” charts the story of a young man who in plunged into the amazing world of working with dolphins as a trainer. The young man nurtures his technique and develops a form of telepathy between him and the dolphins, a kind of psychic bonding.
Past President Jan Abbink (left) receives a signed copy of “The Perfect Pair” from author David C Holroyd (right).
The second book “The Perfect Pair – The Mirror Cracks” has already been published and the third book “The Perfect Pair – Shards from the Mirror” is currently being written.
The title the Perfect Pair relates to what is considered the Holy Grail in regard to dolphins: finding two dolphins that ‘move as one; and can perform the highly sought after ‘shadow ballet’.
These books are marketed as fictional stories, although the first book recently won an award in the non-fiction category, they are based on the diaries of the dolphin trainer who went on to be the top trainer in Europe and although the account is one that is charming, funny and heart-touching, it also highlights the plight of the dolphins, mammals that are highly intelligent but are held captive in an unnatural environment all for the purpose of human enjoyment.
Tai Ji in Japan is home to the notorious ‘Killing Cove’, a place where over 20,000 dolphins are killed each year. Some of the better looking dolphins survive this hellish process as they are chosen to be taken across the globe to be held captive, trained, sometimes beaten again for the sole objective of human enjoyment.
David pointed out in his talk to the members and guests of the club that these untrained dolphins are sold for approximately 130,000 pounds and that the companies who train them and run the dolphin-ariums go on to make millions.
Thus these charming books in fact tell two tales, that of the young man and his extraordinary life, along with the unacceptable face of the mistreatment of the delightful creatures.
The Perfect Pair trilogy of books have been well received by readers in the UK, yet many book stores are refusing to stock the books due to the controversy that the stories have sparked , and how the abuse of dolphins earns millions for powerful and highly influential companies.
David’s talk was well received and was followed by a short Q&A session, David also signed copies of his books and finished with some advice. “If people don’t buy a ticket to go watch these dolphins – the whole business grounds to a halt and tens of thousands of dolphins can carry on living.”
The Rotary Club of Eastern Seaboard is a very active club, details of their projects and upcoming events & speakers can be found on their popular facebook page: https://www. facebook.com/Rotary ClubEasternSeaboard.
