The Charlatans # 6 - A series of 40 satirical short stories exposing the shenanigans of South Africa's business and political elite.

The Charlatans is Not The Bored Room's new book containing 40 satirical short stories exposing the immoral, unethical and other character failings of the business and political elite in South Africa. Over the coming months, I'll be posting brief whet-your-appetite summaries of the stories, now moving to the sixth chapter, titled Ulusaba Cliff Lodge and the Silver Spirit.

In the sixth story, the Charlatan family argue over their preferred annual holiday destination. Hysteria, group human resources director and registered psychologist with a borderline personality disorder, more wracked by neuroses and chemical dependencies than most psychiatric patients, determines to resist any attempts by her parents and siblings to undertake yet another cruise.

"If you make me stew again in some smelly ship, I'll jump overboard in the dead of night. I'm telling you, I'm serious," says Hysteria.

Her younger sister Consortia seeks a compromise, urging the family to go to Ulusaba Cliff Lodge, Sir Richard Branson's safari hideout.

"Mosquitoes and malaria, tsetse flies and foot and mouth disease, the smelly linger of Sir Richard's running shoes, and the natives. Why? Why on earth, when we can enjoy the first world?" protests Shady Charlatan, executive chairman.

In the story's exploration of the many negative facets of Shady Charlatan's poor character, he weighs up the risks of his daughter jumping ship, the Silver Spirit, to her inevitable death, against the risks of an African safari.

To find out how Ulusaba Cliff Lodge and the Silver Spirit unfolds and concludes, and the many other ways that Charlatans, Inc. goes about its bad business, buy a signed copy by the author and illustrator of The Charlatans. The book is available for purchase @ R250 per copy including postage. Just pop me an email - [email protected] - and we'll do the necessary.

Not The Bored Room has developed a short in-company corporate communications product, The Charlatans Shockshop, aimed at reminding people throughout an organisation not to get up to unethical, immoral and criminal mischief-making, or suffer the consequences thereof. This is in the vein of Robert Fulgham's marvellous New York Times bestseller, All I Really Need to Know I Learned in Kindergarten. The Charlatans Shockshop is two hours in duration, uses entertaining and informative storytelling, with intense audience involvement. Participants, up to sixty in number, get an informative and entertaining attitude change experience, a personal, signed copy of The Charlatans, and a 'Don't be a Charlatan!' memento.

If you're a leader with good character and keen to keep or get your employees on a good moral, ethical and character track, please email us at [email protected], and we'll send you more details about The Charlatans Shockshop.

Here below is the illustration of the story of Ulusaba Cliff Lodge and the Silver Spirit.