What a fabulous evening last night !!
Paul Naylor, author of "Great British Marine Animals", now in its expanded 3rd Edition, visited Scuba Blue to give a presentation on "Sex and Violence in the Underwater World"! A subject guaranteed to grab the attention of any audience.
The lecture room at Scuba Blue HQ (kindly provided by Fathom Diving) was full for Paul's talk and it was great to meet people from the dive community across the area. Paul spoke and showed video and photographs for over an hour but afterwards, no one could believe how quickly the time had passed. We would have happily listened to Paul's tales for much longer. Rather than skim over all the animals we divers see regularly on our UK dive trips Paul chose to focus on a handful of creatures which we then got to know so much better. Who knew that the cute Tompot Blenny could be such a devious little critter! As Midge put it when thanking Paul:
"A huge thank you to author Paul Naylor for an absolutely riveting presentation on the fascinating creatures that inhabit our coastline. The time went SO quickly and I’m sure next time we dive we will all observe creatures with renewed respect and wonder after hearing the amazing facts Paul amusingly delivered !!"
Afterwards, Paul stayed to chat and answer questions as well as selling copies of his book - autographed of course. His book was so popular that he sold every copy he had brought with him. I am confident that Midge will be inviting Paul back to Scuba Blue soon.
The image of the plumose anemone and edible crab is an indication of the quality of images which feature on every page of Great British Marine Animals. To find out more about Paul check out his website at http://www.marinephoto.co.uk If you are a UK diver Paul's book should be on your bookshelf, or even better, in a waterproof bag with your dive kit so you can find out more about what you have just seen as soon as you leave the water. Also, have a look at Benny The Blenny who is a rarity among marine creatures - he is a regular blogger!
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