September

We started the month with a visit to a family barbeque at Marjolein’s aunt and uncle’s place in Drenthe. We did not stay over this time and went back the same evening, so it was a shorter party than usual. Nevertheless we had a fine time, particularly because the food was partly African, produced by a friend of the family. I relish all kinds of African cuisine so I was very, very evil indeed.

Marjolein’s uncle had his jazz buddies over, so we had live music. Falco and Daniel go to join in, quite surprisingly musically and there were fireworks too. We went home much later than we had intended but arrived safe and sound.

Matthijs had his tenth birthday on the 11th. This was celebrated initially by just managing to squeeze him into the schedule for his vaccination boosters (has to happen before you turn ten). He wanted a Dungeons and Dragons birthday party, so we did a lot of preparation, using the excellent Basic Game (still version 3.5 at that time). Marjolein translated character sheets into Dutch and I Dungeon Mastered an afternoon session for Matthijs and his buddies: they fought goblins and orcs, navigated twisty tunnels, opened trapped chests and ate plenty of snacks. His friends had a great time and wanted to come back next day and finish the game, so it looks as if D&D will be a regular thing from now on.

Haarlem had an extensive Open Monument Day, combined with the opening of the new cultural season. Now the boys are big enough we toured round town, looking into places that are normally closed (many monuments are still in active use as government buildings) and heard a wonderful baroque choir in the Janskerk (Jan’s Church), which is now the town archive. It was wonderful to hear such music sitting in a building that had been in use for seven hundred years. We also enjoyed looking round the Saint Bavo basilica, one of Haarlem’s two remaining cathedrals out of an original five. It is a wonderfully, weirdly, Russian-looking building from the outside, but utterly gracious and calm inside.

Haarlem has many Hofjes: small enclosed gardened courtyards surrounded by little houses. These were often established for Beguines or as charitable housing for the elderly and infirm. We visited the Hofje van Bakenes, which is the oldest still in existence in the town: very quiet and beautiful.

The last weekend of the month the little monsters had Pharos camp at Fort Penningsveer. As Falco is now six he was allowed to go too, an event which he had been looking forward to for years. He had a wonderful time and Marjolein and I were able to have a weekend entirely to ourselves….

We closed the month by going to the farewell performance of Dogtroep a highly inventive theatre group that specialises in performing elaborate stunt-studded tableaux in industrial locations. We were very warmly dressed but the location (gravel-loading bay in the Amsterdam docks) was very exposed and chilly. It was sad to see them go, but the goodbye was entrancing, balletic and fairly incendiary. Not to be repeated I fear….