Lennert from the bicycle shed at Centrum West retires: ‘I remember everything’

Put on a hat, put in an earring and a warm greeting: “Chef, how are you?” or “Ma’am, where were you last week?”. Most visitors to the bicycle shed at Centrum West recognize the comments of the cheerful Lennert Angelina (66). Tuesday, November 4 is his last working day at U-Stal.

Walk down the stairs of the guarded bicycle shed with your bicycle or fat bike and Lennert will be waiting for you with his handheld scanner. He invariably calls boys and men chef and master, women and girls boss, madam or girl. “I sometimes mention Antillean ladies dushi.”

Memory like an elephant’s

Every day, around four hundred cyclists visit the bicycle shed. Four days a week they usually find Lennert in a great mood. If you have not been on a regular visiting day, he will remind you. “I know everyone here when they come and what their permanent stable location is,” says Lennert. “Have a nice weekend,” he says on a Thursday afternoon to a man who is leaving the shed with his bicycle. “I know he will be working from home tomorrow. I automatically save that kind of information.”

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South American music

For a long time, stirring sounds of music sounded from his office in the stable. “I love dancing and South American music,” says Lennert. “It made people here happy, just like me.” Rabo employees who come there every day with their bicycles left the shed dancing after a working day. They said all their stress disappeared as soon as they heard the music.” Unfortunately, at some point his employer turned off the WiFi and the tropical atmosphere was over. “I thought that was a shame,” he says.

I mainly played bachata music from the Dominican Republic

Respect for each other

In quiet moments, Lennert sweeps the floor, closes the pannier flaps and listens to the news. He keeps a close eye on the house rules, such as the prohibition of cycling in the shed. “If people do it anyway, I will say something about it. I have respect for everyone and expect the same from others.”

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Youthfulness of his mother

On Wednesday, November 5, Lennert will turn 67 and retire. Most people don’t believe he’s that old. “I get that youthfulness from my mother,” he says. “My mother lived to be 93, but she was always estimated to be younger. Everyone knew her with a well-groomed face and red lipstick.”

Suit seller

Lennert waves to a woman who enters the stable, speaks a word of Spanish with another lady and punches a student. He says he got that friendly attitude from his father. “He had his own suit shop in Curaçao for years and, just like me, loved interacting with others.”

Not only will Lennert miss contact with people, visitors to the stables will also have to do without his infectious cheerfulness. “I promise to bring home-baked cake on my last day of work.”

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