THE GLOVER December 2011 - The Worshipful Company of Glovers

THE MASTER’S WEEKEND 3 – 5 June
Every member of the Glovers’
Company is well aware of our link with
the Safran Guild of Basel and we are
delighted that some members of the
Guild have chosen to become Glovers
as well. The Master’s Weekend in 2011
provided an opportunity to learn more
about the Guild and to get to know their
historic home town. It was therefore not
surprising that 63 members of the Livery
responded to the Master’s invitation to
join him and the Mistress in Basel for “a
busy but glorious weekend”. The very
comfortable Hotel Krafft on the northern
bank of the Rhine in the town centre was
our rendezvous on Friday 3 June. After
lunch, our “Safran-Glover” guides led us
in a tour of the old town and the historic
Münster or cathedral. By five o’clock we
were feeling thirsty and welcomed a
glass of wine in the Mentelinhof. This is
a fine old house near the Münster which
belongs to the Vintners’ Guild and
we learnt something of the building’s
history as we sipped our wine. For many
of us though, the most interesting part of
the afternoon was crossing the Rhine by
ferry. Basel’s ferries may be very ancient
but their emission-free technology is
cutting edge. The ferry is tethered to a
steel rope across the river,
the ferryman steers but the
power of the current
actually drives the boat.
Traditional transport was
also a feature of the
evening, as we left our hotel
by historic trams which
toured the town before
delivering us to the Zoo.
Again, members of the
Safran Guild acted as
Six
Boarding the trams on way to dining at the zoo
guides describing the history
and architecture as we
passed. At the Zoo, dinner
had been arranged in the
Lion House but as an
appetizer we watched the
feeding of the crocodiles.
Afterwards, through the glass
wall of the dining room, the
crocodiles watched the
feeding of the Glovers.
Altogether the evening was a
unique and unforgettable
experience.
On Saturday morning we
moved back into the centre
of the old town to visit the
Historical Museum. The
Guilds are a very important
part of Basel’s history and
are well represented in the
Museum. Besides the
displays of their livery regalia and gold
and silver plate, we enjoyed watching a
film of the Safran’s Guild’s famous Ash
Wednesday celebrations (and spotting
Past Master Ken Smith at the dinner).
After coffee we moved on to the Schola
Cantorem Basiliensis, the world famous
Basel music academy
specialising in early music. We
were greeted by Professor Dr
Regula Rapp, the Director and
Dr Jeremy Llewellyn who
introduced a team of students
who gave us a concert
of music from the period
when the Glovers’ Company
was founded, played on
reproductions of instruments
of the time. Both the music
Musical instruments under close inspection
and the instruments were fascinating
and it was not easy for our guides to
keep us to the timetable and persuade
us to leave.
A short walk brought us to the home of
Catherine Oeri and Michi Kessler. This is
a very beautiful house over-looking the
Rhine. Catherine and Michi were our
generous hosts for lunch which was a
delicious and relaxing meal in the
garden. We were next to the eighteenth
century Garden House which many of
us were able to explore after lunch as
well as stroll in the beautiful gardens.
After lunch there was a chance to
explore the town or shops but one group
visited the Pharmaceutical Museum.
This was created by Michi Kessler who
acted as our guide. We learnt how Basel
had been a vital cross-roads in the
medieval spice trade between the
Mediterranean and Northern Europe.
Many of the spices had medical uses
and so Basel was a natural centre for
the pharmaceutical industry which
developed in the nineteenth century
and still remains the home of many of
the world’s most important drug
companies.
As we changed into dinner jackets
and long frocks for the evening, the
sky began to look threatening. The
Glovers’ group reached our first stop,
THE GLOVER December 2011