Full squares and shaved asses: this is what you missed today

From crowded squares and King’s Day madness to Lou Lou’s donkey that was shaved without asking by a stranger. A lot of things happened again this Monday in our province. We have listed four stories that you must read today.

It’s King’s Day and Brabant turns orange. In cities such as Eindhoven and Breda, squares had to be closed due to the enormous crowds. The Fensterrein, Begijnenhof and Stadhuisplein in Eindhoven were full of revelers, as was the Havermarkt in Breda where 538 King’s Day played in front of sold-out stands. In the border village of Baarle-Nassau there was a party on Sint-Annaplein, while a few hundred meters further in the Belgian Baarle-Hertog it remained just a weekday Monday evening. Check out our King’s Day live blog here.

Less festive news from Oss: donkey Lou Lou was shaved unsolicited by a stranger for the second time in three years. Owner Paulien Leemans is furious. The French Poitou donkey has its long hair as a natural protection against flies, but someone cut its bangs away just before summer. “Keep your hands off my donkey!” is her clear message. Read his story here.

There is also cultural news. Photographer Moreno Molenaar from Roosendaal shared his impressive images of the forbidden zone around Chernobyl, which he visited eight years ago. Between abandoned hair salons with dusty shampoo bottles and schoolrooms with textbooks still on the tables, he photographed the silent witnesses of the disaster forty years ago. “When you are alone in such a space for a moment, it really hits you,” he says. You can read his analysis here.

Finally, something delicious: chocolatier Hein Geers made a chocolate version of King Willem-Alexander’s head for King’s Day. The artwork is in his business Huize Geers in Tilburg as part of a competition. Whoever guesses the weight correctly wins a voucher for ten scoops of ice cream. The mold dates from 2017, when the king celebrated his fiftieth birthday – still without a beard. Read the whole story here.