In order to escape the air of
despair that transcended over the house on Sunday afternoon following the
student’s departure back to Bristol, Mr T and I headed for the beach. We knew
it would be grim; Zandvoort is always grim and I find it very hard to picture
this resort awash with warmth, sun umbrellas, bikinis and Bermuda shorts. The grimness
would suit our mood, I thought, it will be quiet, just me and Mr T on the
beach, drowning in the solitude of self-pity.
Of course it was not quiet. Had I
forgotten what country we are in? There may well have been leaden skies and a force
ten gale blowing, but that doesn’t deter the Dutch. What better way to defy the
weather than to zip up your anorak, pull on your hat and head out into the
elements. The North Sea waves crashed
onto the beach creating more foam spray than a night club in Ibiza, the gusting
wind howled, making conversation more or less impossible and walking against it
very difficult, yet still people were out there, strolling along the sand.
It was yet another occasion when
I marvelled at the hardiness of the Dutch. Why wouldn’t you take your kids to
the beach on a day they have every chance of getting swept away? There’s no molly-coddling here. The
day before we had spent the evening at a
friend’s birthday party, chatting to a friendly Dutch family. We had discussed our
respective houses. How do you teach your youngsters to go safely up and down
those steep stairs, I asked, their early years must be fraught with accidents.
Yes, Dutch mum agreed, they are. A couple of falls is usually all it takes, however,
for toddlers to become proficient and you always put something soft like an old
mattress at the foot of the stairs to cushion those early falls. I must
remember that when my elderly mother comes to stay.
So the student has gone after a
happy week dodging trams in Amsterdam and soaking up a bit of culture. I took
her to the Hague where we marvelled at the Panorama Mesdag, a full 360 degree painting,
14 metres high of the beach of Scheveningen created in the1860's. It was amazing, if
slightly disorientating and something of a hidden gem. The good thing about
having visitors is that it makes you seek things out. That bad thing is of
course that visitors always leave….
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