Witnesses sought after robbery at Greifengasse
The police are looking for witnesses after a 69-year-old man was robbed and injured at the junction between Greifengasse and Rheingasse on Saturday evening.
According to police investigations, the man was walking in the area with his wife at 7pm when a young man approached him, gripped his hand, and ripped off his watch. The victim suffered minor injuries. The robber ran off towards the Kaserne. An immediate police search was unsuccessful.
Wanted:
Male, 22-25 years old, 170-180cm tall, skinny build, black hair, 3-day beard, and spoke Spanish. He was wearing a black baseball hat, blue patterned shirt and camouflage trousers or jeans. The suspect also had a visible gap between his two front teeth.
Anyone with information is asked to report to the criminal police on phone number 016 267 71 11 or at the nearest police station.
Hedgehogs and other small animals are suffering in the heat
All living creatures suffer when it gets too hot. Even the smallest ones. Small animals are used to regular rain. However, since it has not really rained much for weeks, the situation is dire for them at the moment. Hedgehogs usually drink from puddles. Since there are no puddles around, hedgehogs must change their routine. «For small animals, the current lack of water is surely a problem», confirmed Ueli Meier, manager of the Office for forests of both Basel cantons. «Hedgehogs therefore look for little streams». Deep water could be dangerous for them since they could drown.
While humans must look out for falling branches in the drought, this is not a problem for forest animals. «They have different senses than humans. We haven't heard of any case when an animal was struck by a branch», Mr Meier said. It is also possible that there are fewer animals in the region because they are looking for new water sources.
Less fed on fat for the winter
The heat also influences the amount of food available of animals. It is not yet clear whether the amount of fat animals store for the winter sleep has been reduced by the drought. Animals who eat fruit have it good since there is enough fruit around in the region.
While humans struggle with the heat and enjoy every gentle breeze, the situation is not so dramatic for animals. «They can cope better with difficult situations», Mr Meier said.
There are however still concerns for the smallest creatures, the animal protection organisation of both Basel cantons confirmed.«We are currently receiving an increase in calls from people worrying about and asking how they could help animals,» communication manager, Daniel Bader, said/ Luckily there has been no increase of hedgehogs at the hedgehog rescue centre. They seem to bravely cope with the heat.
A tour through Basel's wedding frenzy
A new thematic guided tour by the Verein Frauenstadtrundgang Basel provides an insight into our city’s historical wedding customs.
Trips at the weekend with the best female friends before the big day, the white dress, the bridal bouquet, and the wedding cake. There are many rules and traditions about weddings. A hen-night should be a relaxed and funny night with the bride’s closest relations and best female friends. But it's not just a party. «We frequently were asked for a guided tour for a hen-night», Sophie Bürgi, coordinator of the Verein Frauenstadtrundgang Basel, said. The thematic guided tours on offer were rather grim – about witches, prostitutes, and abortions: not exactly the topics to talk about on a hen-night. To offer something positive for brides-to-be, the Verein has now created a wedding tour «Through the centuries in a wedding frenzy», which starts on 19th August.
Enticing «Stubete»
Over three hours, the tour offers insights into wedding customs in a historical perspective in Basel. Of course it starts with how young Baslers in the past got to know each other. «This happened in the so-called Stubete», Sophie Bürgi said. «In private houses young women met to do manual work, and young men came in». This often resulted in people falling in love. These events were not liked by the church or the authorities and were in danger of being banned. But youth prevailed.
A promise at home was enough
Reformation changed society in Basel and weddings were also affected. Promises were made in front of a small circle of witnesses, while the wedding in the church followed some time later. But after making the promise, man and woman were seen as a married couple with all advantages and disadvantages. «Stricter rules were added later and the informal promise disappeared», Sophie Bürgi said.
A special focus of the tour is on the progressive marriage of the philosopher, Isaak Iselin. «In those days, the man was the head of the family. But equal rights of man and woman were very important to Isaak Iselin», Ms Bürgi said. Another reason to be proud of the renowned philosopher.
Turtle soup and nougat
The tour terminates in front of the «Grand Hotel Les Trois Rois» with an insight into the wedding around 1900. A menu card which remained from those days shows how the upper class celebrated a wedding. «They served a turtle soup, a lot of meat, and a colourful desert with a nougat-tower on the table», Ms Bürgi said. The tour is an interesting and funny programme for saying farewell to the bachelorette existence.
Further information available here.