Spice BeachClub

Like every year, the return of the beach clubs at Scheveningen beach is exciting - it almost feels like a natural phenomenon, part of the arrival of spring, together with migratory birds returning and the first early spring flowers (eerily early this year, with the hottest winter in recorded history, and as beautiful as those flowers are, they are also harbingers of something scarier, like a line underscoring the growing climate anxiety you can feel everywhere these days). So, after the permanent places we visited during the winter, now it's time for Billie Stormzy and me to start sampling Scheveningen's temporary beach scene.

Just like during the winter, we will start at the southern end of the boulevard and from there make our way up north. After passing several places that are still in the process of being built, Spice BeachClub is the first place that is already in full swing. A cheerful waitress welcomes me in when I peek inside and ask whether they're open already. She tells me I better go and sit at the covered terrace, as it will be nicer for me and the little one. And it is, indeed, nice here. The covered terrace offers a nice view over the beach and the sea. In the distance, surfers can be seen walking back from the sea, people are walking their dogs. Spice itself is a pleasant looking affair, too, all wood, white and blue, with the odd choice of two large copies of easter island statues standing at the entrance to the terrace - an interesting variation to the Buddha statues you normally find in beach clubs.

Billie Stormzy is fast asleep. Walking here was a long walk, because we didn't come from home. This morning, we first visited the child consultation clinic, where all Dutch children younger than four are monitored. This is where babies get their vaccinations and they check how a child is doing by measuring things such as growth, weight and the size of the head, and seeing how its cognitive abilities and motorics are developing. They also often have handy advice for how to deal with things such as eating and sleeping habits. Billie Stormzy is doing fine, so there was not much to discuss, especially since there were no vaccinations scheduled this time.

Of course, such a visit is still tiring. As I was waiting for the doctor, there were lots of impressions: older kids running around, babies crying. Billie Stormzy was very interested in all of that. Lately, he's become very keen on checking out his environment, often paying less attention. He'll be watching the goings on around him with a very serious look on his face, and where before he would immediately start smiling when we smiled at him, now he will take little notice of us, having more attention ofr other things. When I went into the doctor's room, however, and put him on the table, he lay on his back smiling at me. According to the doctor, he was doing great. Slightly longer than average, but with average weight: tall and lean, as the doctor put it. His head size was slightly below average, but so was his sister's when she was a baby, so apparently that is something that runs in the family (and part of our Asian heritage as we were told six years ago: apparently Asians have, on average, smaller heads than Europeans - which shows the trap of using such averages to measure babies in a multicultural society like today's Netherlands).

Anyway, on our long walk through one of the posher neighbourhoods of The Hague, Billie Stormzy quickly fell asleep, tired. So now I am on my own here at Spice BeachClub. There's not much to do except enjoying the view. There's poppy reggae playing on the soundsystem, followed by bossa nova and easy listening covers of classic rock songs (Michael Sembello's "Maniac" is one of them). It fits the beach scenery. It's already past 11, but I order the breakfast (€10,50), announced as "The most beautiful breakfast in Scheveningen". Although I would certainly agree that a breakfast has to be served looking attractive, I hope looks are not all that there is to this breakfast.  Luckily, it isn't. Even though on the one hand, it is standard fare - variation of breads, meat cuts, cheese, and egg - on the other hand, there are nice touches: I like that I can chose how the egg is prepared. And the salad is quite tasty: potato salad with nice spices, and some lettuce, cucumbers and tomatoes in a sweet-sour dressing.

I finish my breakfast and drink the latte macchiato I ordered before. Since Billie Stormzy is still sleeping, I check the news on my phone. Mostly panicky messages about the spread of the Corona virus. I'm getting worried myself: my train to Groningen passes by Schiphol and this means I share the cabin with people from all over the world. Not to mention that a university, as an international gathering place, is by nature a risky place. I've resolved to travel by an alternative route instead. It seems a common sense thing to do that won't take too much trouble.

After having finished my breakfast, I put on my coat and pay. It was raining a bit when we came here, but now the rain has gone. It's still cloudy and windy, though. Still sleeping, Billie Stormzy will only wake up long after we've arrived back home.

Also on Breakfast at the Beach: Jump back in time to when Rihanna Gaga and I visited this place in 2014.