Stirring the PotIn the three stories: "Atlantis", "Password Cleopatra" and "Minotaur", the Captain runs a tourist business out of his re-modelled fishing vessel. He is a flawed character who does not relate well to other people. He becomes embroiled in various adventures which have an underlying element of fantasy."Celebrity Chef". You've seen his series on TV. He is arrogant and offensive and he's not particularly good at cooking. Now you have a chance to look behind the sce...

"The Kreutzer Sonata" is set against a background of the Mixed Marriages Act and the Immorality Act promulgated during the Apartheid years. A young black man by the name of Lucky takes a job in a run-down hotel in Johannesburg. The owner is an Austrian who is more interested in playing his trumpet than in managing his hotel. Lucky finds his loyalty to his boss being tested when he is a witness to his boss breaking the law."A Hero of the People" is set in Moscow after the fall of the...

"The Wisdom of Solomon" poses the question as to whether a strict interpretation of the law is necessarily in the best interests of the victim of a crime. A baby is kidnapped shortly after birth. Fifteen years later her biological parents are discovered. Should the missing girl be returned to her true family who are strangers, or should she remain with the couple who stole her?"Relativity" is a humorous story about polygamy and relatives. You can choose your friends, but you can't c...

"The Cradle of Mankind" is a dramatization of the recent finds of skeletons of a primate species closely related to "homo sapiens". You might not want to meet these creatures wandering around your camp site at night."Shakespeare in the Suburbs" is set in an adult literacy center in Johannesburg where illiterates are taught to read and write. A young, unemployed man does voluntary work at the center while looking for job. He is given the task of helping a fully literate postman pass ...

"The Naturalist" is a dramatization of the first large battle in the Anglo-Zulu War of 1879. It is based on an anecdote about a British trooper catching insects while waiting for the battle to begin."The Tramp" is set during the Anglo-Boer war of 1899. An isolated farm in the Orange Free State is relatively untouched by the war until it is visited by a Boer commando. Surprisingly, the commando abducts a tramp who is lodging in the barn. The tramp is well educated while none of the b...

"String Theory" is a science fiction story at the human level, rather than an epic. An American family on a boating holiday off the coast of Croatia is involved in a strange incident for which there is no logical explanation.The "PhD Virus" is a humorous story about going back to work (or school) after the summer vacation. We all agree that holidays are too short. Take my advice and get a doctor to certify that you need an extra two weeks' holiday."Economic Warfare" is a humo...

In the first story, a crew of astronauts is sent into the far reaches of the solar system. Their mission is to test the performance of a new type of spacecraft and to search for life forms on one of the moons of Saturn. They discover that diamonds are raining down onto the surface of the planet. Their decision is whether to pursue their scientific calling, or to collect a few diamonds for themselves.The second story, set in Venice towards the end of the 18th century, is a duel betwe...

"Love Token" is set in one of the great country houses of England at the time of the First World War. The servants below stairs are getting ready for a house party for thirty guests. Inevitably, the old social set-up disintegrates under the pressures of the war. It is also a love story."Kaffee Klatsch" (gossip in English) is about two elderly women, friends for fifty years. Both women fall in love with the same man which puts their relationship under considerable strain. Jealousy re...

The setting of these stories is Paddafontein (Frog Fountain in English, pronounced 'pudda fonteyn') a remote village in the semi-desert Karoo district of Southern Africa. The inhabitants could be described as old-fashioned, quaint and conservative and at times more than a little strange. The sketches all have a strong ethnic flavour.In the first story, The Trouble with Rina, we meet Katerina, or Rina for short, a woman who is possibly too modern for the conservative village. She is ...

In "A Man Called Che", an elderly Spanish gentleman turns up at a lawyer's office in Tampa, Florida claiming to be Che Guevara, the communist revolutionary. Is he who he says he is? And, what does he want from the lawyers?In the second story "We have a Problem". The truth about the Apollo 11 landing on the moon is revealed. The whole episode was filmed in a Hollywood film studio. Many people already know this. But, do they know that the Russians got to the moon first?The play...

****Winner of the 2021 Audie Award for Narration by Author or Authors****An AudioFile Earphones Award-winning production**This program is read by Alicia Keys, with special guest appearances by family and friends, including Oprah Winfrey, Jay-Z, and Michelle Obama.An intimate, revealing look at one artist’s journey from self-censorship to full expression**As one of the most celebrated musicians in the world, Alicia Keys has enraptured the globe with her heartf...

The ‘Creative Writing Tutor’ scheme provides a lively series of themed booklets that will stimulate your child’s imagination and inspire him or her to write in a more interesting way and to achieve better results. The booklets provide ‘a tutor’ for the child, fun features and stories to read, follow up activities to complete, harder vocabulary to prepare children for more advanced writing and many helpful tips and techniques to improve writing style.Written by an experienced teacher, they ...