I pick a place at the edge of the beach so that Billie Stormzy can run around on the sand, but he isn’t very interested. I think he’s tired actually, because he mostly sits on my lap and wants his comfort attributes: his dummy and the two stuffed animals he always holds on to when he’s in his bed, tired, or just needs a chill out moment: a sheep and a duck that play a melody if you pull on a cord beneath their bellies. The sheep is the same as his big sister used to sleep with – in fact, this is a backup that we bought just in case she might loose hers, as she has did a few times over the years. The duck is his own. It’s quite striking how much he resembles his sister, when he sits on my lap holding his duck and his sheep. Just like she always held on to her two sheep (once she discovered the backup sheep we bought for her, she didn’t want just one anymore), he’s clearly most comfortable when he has his two toys in his hand.
One of the main staircases to the beach leads past Panama and as we sit there, a crowd of international young teenagers descends to the beach. Speaking English and French and all wearing the same blue t-shirt, they exhume the kind of innocent privilege so typical of the expat kids living around Scheveningen – there’s quite a lot of them here, because our neighbourhood is surrounded by a number rich suburbs that attract the diplomats that staff the embassies and consulates in the Hague, and expats working for international companies. Today, the rich kids are sent to clean up the beach, each with a plastic bag in their hands. Billie Stormzy and I watch them, as they half-heartedly pursue their task, picking up trash every once in a while – but mostly it’s groups of boys hanging around the colourful poles that the Pier stands on, and girls doing backflips.
I’m tired. Last week was a bit chaotic as I was travelling up and down between Groningen and Scheveningen all the time. There were meetings, but also end of year gatherings – a barbecue for the cultural studies department and drinks for our own staff. The former was nice. I hesitated at first, as I only teach one course in the Master of what used to be my own home department until 2014. Lots of old acquaintances to catch up with, and a good opportunity to network. Which made me realise how important these kind of in-person gatherings are to make contact and find out about shared interests. The latter was also good: the first time a lot of our staff members managed to meet in person and share some downtime together – we’d booked some tables at the lakeside restaurant on the same holiday park as where I have my trailer, the place where I stay when I have to be in Groningen. Despite the ongoing rainy weather, things are looking sunny: more and more people have their vaccination, and for little over a week, most Covid19 restrictions have been lifting. It’s weird – almost unsettling – to walk around without facemasks in many of the places where they were obligatory until recently (supermarkets, my workplace) and to be able to just go in and out of shops. I am somewhat hesitant still. There are moments when a place feels too crowded, or I decide to wear my facemask just because it doesn’t seem quite over it. And today, too, I prefer a place outside instead of going inside (which was not allowed until quite recently), despite the fact that it is rather chilly.
The breakfast (€12,50) is pretty standard fare; a fried egg, slices of bread, ham, cheese and some jam to put on it, yoghurt with muesli and an orange juice – much like what we’ve had many times already. Billie Stormzy has become super active, but remains seated on my lap, which makes eating a bit of a challenge at times. At first he’s not interested in the food at all, but later he takes out his dummy to sample some of the stuff on my plate. A bit of egg, the entire croissant, most of the yoghurt with muesli. It’s good to see him eat like this: he remains a difficult eater at best, often not eating anything at dinner time. Interestingly enough, we’ve heard from his daycare (and his sister has confirmed this) that he eats very well there – often the same stuff that he refuses to eat at home. Like last week, there are lots of birds around us today, hoping to pick up some crumbs. Billie Stormzy remembers how I told them off last time and shouts “no bird, no!” at them every now and then, while we finish the breakfast. The
Soon, it’s
time to pay and leave. Billie Stormzy is far from tired now: he runs around on
the Scheveningen boulevard, laughing and pointing at everything as we make our
way back to our bike.
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