How A Sex-Starved Chinchilla Finds Love In 80s Rheindahlen
How do you find a mate for a lonely, sex-starved male chinchilla?
Not a common problem to solve in life for most people but this was a very real dilemma for one member of 11 SU (Signals Unit) based in Rheindahlen in Germany 30 years ago.
Archive television footage, which has remained out of public view since it was broadcast on January 21 1988, has been unearthed and it reveals this quirky feature on the then BFBS news programme Scene Here.
Broadcaster Mike Allen, who worked for BFBS in the 80s, meets up with Dave Rowan in the married quarters near to JHQ Rheindahlen, which had been the main headquarters for British Forces Germany up until the military complex was handed back to the German federal authorities in 2013.
The footage shows how Dave had put a classified ad in the Forces Weekly Echo newspaper appealing for help in finding a mate for his pet chinchilla which was apparently desperate for some female company.
The advert reads: Wanted: Attractive Female Chinchilla for a long lasting friendship with lonely sex-starved male called Basil, he has his own penthouse cage which he’ll share willingly.
It has not been confirmed if Basil managed to finally find a love match and it is not yet known what became of Dave after this broadcast was aired.
However, the footage is likely to evoke memories for many viewers of Scene Here in the 1980s and of Rheindahlen – particularly the distinctive curtains featured in the clip, which were often a talking point for many during their time there in Germany.
In the broadcast, Mike introduces Basil before explaining: “A chinchilla, just in case you were rushing for your encyclopedia, is a South American rodent, belonging to the Chinchillidae family, and is basically a small, short-eared, long-tailed rabbit.”
He later adds: “Basil’s home is in a quarter in Dorthausen near Rheindahlen, where he lives a full and happy life but for one sad fact.
“You see, Basil is a very lonesome chinchilla. Like all of us he needs a mate to have and to hold, to love and to cherish.
“Sadly though, chinchillas aren’t ten-a-penny here in Dorthausen and poor Basil has got no one to call his own.
“Just look at those ‘come-to-hutch’ eyes, which in the wild would send the average female chinchilla weak at the paws, but poor Basil is still waiting and hoping for Miss Right to come along.”
Mike ends the segment by saying: “So if you have a warm, giving, female chinchilla, who could mend young Basil’s broken heart, then Dave, and Basil, are waiting by the phone.”
Anyone who knows how Basil got on, or who knows Dave Rowan, could contact the Forces Network digital team at [email protected].
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