For years he came there at least two or three times a week: the Blaricum eatery Moeke Spijkstra was the favorite pub of television presenter Willibrord Frequin. In fact: Willibrord had a permanent table there, with nameplate and all. And that in a very special place in the cafe. Willibrord passed away last week, the Blaricum café will pay him a final greeting tomorrow. “We are going to miss him terribly,” says pub owner Tim Verkerk.
The staff of the eatery will undoubtedly have had to get used to their regulars. A visit from Willibrord to ‘his’ Moeke never went unnoticed. “That always went according to a fixed protocol”, pub owner Tim laughs.
“When he came in, we all had to say hello to him. We immediately escorted him to his table, where a small beer was already waiting. the floor is clattering wet. He liked it that way. And we always had to say ‘you’ to him and not ‘u’. If you did, you got a slap on the fingers.”
the same every time
A visit from Willibrord was almost the same every time. “First the beer, then a few jenevers. And at the table he always ate sole. Without vegetables, but with a lemon. And three bowls served separately with fine pepper, salt and sambal. He liked it that way. Willibrord was quite a man with a manual, but once you knew it it was very easy. And fun.”
As a bar owner, Tim also had to get used to Willibrord as his regular. “At first he was a bit of a strange man, but when you get to know him better, a world opens up. He was an incredibly sweet man. A man who always thought along or helped, always attentive.”
“He was a man with a very big mouth, but with a heart of gold. We will all miss him terribly”
Fixed table with nameplate
Willibrord came to Moeke Spijkstra so often that the eatery gave him a regular table. Or rather: he acquired it himself. The table was in a somewhat different place. “It’s the table right next to the powder room,” Tim laughs. “There was a reason. Then he could ask the ladies he found attractive or interesting for the time. To start a conversation. And that worked out quite well.”
Willibrord passed away last week. He will therefore no longer sit at his regular table. A loss for the staff, a loss for the entire cafe. Yet his regular table will not disappear. “It will always remain,” says Tim resolutely. “In addition to his name tag, of course, which we once hung up for him next to his table. We even screwed it on when they were having a drink and didn’t want to budge. There are also photos of him around the table with us. It’s his corner and it will remain so.”
Honorary hague as a last greeting
Willibrord is buried today. This happens at the Blaricum cemetery de Woensberg. After a farewell service in St John’s Basilica in Laren, the funeral procession leaves for Blaricum. Obviously past café ‘t Bonte Paard, that other café where Willibrord was more than happy to sit at the counter.
And then of course also along ‘his’ Moeke Spijkstra. An emotional moment for Tim and for all the staff, who give him a final greeting. “When the funeral procession comes by, we make a guard of honor for him. He deserves that. He was a man with a very big mouth, but with a heart of gold. We will all miss him terribly.”