Off the Record: FTR Coffee Corner’s Bert
From the moment I enter the 15th floor’s coffee corner, I am welcomed by the ever-warm and comforting smell of coffee. On the table lies a crossword puzzle, glasses and an empty cup. “Can I get you something?” Bert asks, holding a small stick of liquorice in the left corner of his mouth. “Coffee, please,” I answer. He pours us both a fresh cup of hot black coffee and while we settle down at the table next to the bar, the great view of Nijmegen accompanies us.
Bert works on Mondays and Thursdays at the coffee corner on the 15th floor of Radboud University’s Erasmus building, which houses the spirit of Philosophy, Theology and Religious studies. Since the thinking mind needs a lot of coffee to process all that has been read and written, it seemed like a good idea to interview Bert who, together with Yolande, takes care of this precious place we all need in our daily lives.
“So, Bert, can you tell me something about yourself?”
“Well, I am Bert, originally a carpenter. Previously, I did maintenance for student housing. And my hobbies are birds and working with wood to make things.”
When I ask Bert what he likes to make, a whole story unfolds in the morning of a regular but quiet day. He has just created a couple of parrot-trees from wood for his volunteering job at an elderly home where he is creating a birdhouse. Apart from doing all kinds of activities with the elderly, he also likes to cook. Right now, he is experimenting with spices from Greek cuisine, a very relevant region to the 15th floor. He is also very interested in antiquities. He tells me he owns a few massive books containing catholic illustrations which he absolutely loves. And that is not all. In his earlier days, he worked at what is now called Orientalis, the former biblical open-air museum, where he created museum pieces based on Roman archaeological excavations. Moreover, he is very skilled in renovating pieces of furniture, and in the past, he restored playgrounds to construct any furniture that his family had ever dreamed of.
“Need to check if there is still enough coffee.”
While greeting the incoming personnel, Bert heads off to the bar. When he returns, I ask him how many cups of coffee he drinks during the day, and what his favorite coffee is. He answers: “I think, well, it is a little bit less right now, but on average, 12-14 cups. I used to drink fresh filter coffee, but now we have Senseo at home, the dark Senseo. Nice, with a layer of foam on top.” And when I continue to ask for his favorite pastries on the side, he adds: “Just cookies. Regular plain waffle cookies. The only pastry I really like is schuimgebak.”Freely translated, it is a foam-pastry (again, the foam!).
We talk about all sorts of subjects, but a very important part of Bert’s life has not yet been addressed, so I return to the subject of birds. His eyes begin to sparkle when I ask him about his favorite birds. “Colored canaries. And a putter. Well, actually, it is a goldfinch, but here, we call it a putter[1]. Beautiful bird to look at.” He shows me some pictures and videos of these beautiful, tiny creatures. His favorites are the red colored ones, mosaic-like, and we both listen to the charming, bright whistles of these birds. An amusing fact: because of his elaborated whistle-hearing abilities, Bert discovered that he was a little hard of hearing. “At one time, I entered the shed and I wondered, why don’t I hear the birds? Those sharp tones were just gone.” We both laugh. “Let’s see if there is enough tea left.” Whistling to himself now, he makes sure that everything is always in place and taken care of.
Next year, Bert will retire, and because he doesn’t have a yacht to run off to Dubai with, I ask him what he plans to do. He wants to continue his work as a volunteer at the elderly home, touring around on his moped, and specifically, he would like to spend his days fishing. He adds: “Then… I completely relax (…) I personally prefer the ‘old-school’ solid stick, which is far more beautiful to use, because then you have a sort of feeling with it (…) and when I am tired, I will buy some coffee and a meatball for my friend and I, and all of it is just very relaxing.”
Bert is a morning person, a listening ear, a calm and friendly man. He has found his way at the 15th floor and he stresses the feeling of involvement he experiences during his working days which is created by the people at the coffee corner. When I stop my recording at approximately fifty-five minutes, we continue chattering for another forty-five minutes about movies, his family, and all sorts of things. Serving ourselves a final round of hot coffee, we discuss the missing cups problem while the sun breaks through the clouded, rainy morning. Just another day at the coffee-corner…
[1] ‘Het puttertje’ is famously known as a painting by Carel Fabritius and the book cover of Donna Tartt’s ‘The Goldfinch’.