Thursday 24 September 2026 | 2:00–5:00 p.m. | Prinses Irenestraat 10, Genemuiden
Outside, the rain taps softly against the window. Inside, the tea is ready, there is something tasty on the table, and a colourful collection of second-hand LEGO® bricks is waiting for a new pair of hands.
You do not have to be an experienced builder. In fact, you do not have to build anything at all. Simply pulling up a chair is enough.
Thursday 24 September marks the start of the 2026 Week against Loneliness — the Dutch Week tegen Eenzaamheid. That afternoon, we will keep our shop open especially for anyone who would enjoy some company. There is no complicated programme and nothing you need to prepare. We are simply making time and space for people to meet.
Drop in for a drink, something tasty and a little company. Come by yourself, bring someone you know, or invite someone who might appreciate getting out of the house. There is a place for you at our table.
Come and join us
Thursday 24 September 2026
2:00–5:00 p.m.
GebruiktSpeelgoed
Prinses Irenestraat 10, Genemuiden
Coffee, tea, something tasty, second-hand LEGO® and, above all, good company.
A conversation does not have to begin with words
“How are you, really?” can feel like a very big question. “Shall we look for that one blue brick together?” is often much easier.
That is one of the lovely things about building side by side. You do not have to keep a conversation going. While sorting, searching or catching a tower just before it topples, space opens up naturally.
Space for a joke, a memory of a childhood set, or a conversation that does not need to lead anywhere — and can therefore begin without pressure.
The national Week against Loneliness is about meeting people and creating new connections. Activities will take place throughout the Netherlands from 24 to 30 September. Its invitation is simple: Kom erbij! — Come and join us.
We are taking that invitation quite literally, with an open door and a table full of bricks.
Second-hand LEGO with a new story to tell
A used brick is rarely just a used brick.
Perhaps it once belonged to a spaceship, a fire station or a house with a roof that was far too tall. Then it disappeared into a box in the attic. Now it is here, ready to become something completely different.
That is what makes second-hand LEGO so well suited to this afternoon. Nothing has to follow the original instructions. A wheel can become a flowerpot. A window can suddenly be part of a boat. Separate pieces that do not appear to have much purpose on their own can support something surprising when they are put together.
We think that is a fitting thought for the Week against Loneliness. Not because people are like building bricks, but because connection does not require a perfect set of instructions either.
Sometimes one small gesture is enough: pulling up a chair, pouring someone a cup of coffee or simply asking, “Which colour should we use?”
Build a bridge — literally or otherwise
There is no competition waiting on the table and there will be no judges.
Build whatever you like. Make a bridge together, create an autumn cottage, invent a peculiar vehicle or attempt the smallest coffee cup in Genemuiden. Start something and let somebody else add to it. Or quietly sort the bricks while listening to the conversations around you.
Perhaps you will come for the LEGO and stay for the conversation. Perhaps you will come for the coffee and suddenly discover that a castle has appeared beneath your hands.
Both are perfectly fine.
Who is this afternoon for?
It is for anyone who would enjoy some company.
You do not have to describe yourself as lonely in order to be welcome. Perhaps you work from home a great deal. Perhaps your calendar is busier than your social life. Maybe you know somebody who would find it easier to walk through the door if you came along.
Or perhaps spending a rainy Thursday afternoon building something together simply sounds rather cosy.
Come alone or bring someone with you. No LEGO experience is required. You can build, watch, drink coffee, join the conversation or take your time settling in.
This afternoon does not have to solve anything. We simply want to create a place where making contact can feel easy.
Your chair is already waiting
Loneliness is not always visible. Someone can know many people and still feel alone. Someone else may have only a few social contacts and be perfectly content.
That is why we will not be putting labels on anyone on 24 September. We will simply open the door.
So, if dark clouds gather over Genemuiden that Thursday afternoon, you can leave them outside. It will be warm in the shop. The coffee will be brewing, bricks will be rattling gently in their trays, and Oude will be ready to welcome you.
Pull up a chair.
Pass someone a brick.
Build something that did not exist when the afternoon began.
And perhaps you will go home not only with a new building idea, but also with a name you will recognise the next time you meet.
We would love to see you on Thursday 24 September, between 2:00 and 5:00 p.m in our store.
