Night workers

Night workers are the men and women who make sure we get through the day. That we can have breakfast, travel, relax, come home, stay safe. Who patch us up when we fall down or help us start a new day feeling fresh. That we can close the door behind us with peace of mind. While we’re out and about or relaxing at home, the night workers go to work.

Wouter Nordt (age 75)

Chair of Sterrenwacht/EWSK (Eindhoven Weather and Astronomical Circle).

Text: Paul van Vugt 
Image: Eddie Mol

During the day, you can only see the sun here and only if the sky is clear. We really depend on darkness. That guarantees us a varied audience. Connoisseurs come to spot craters on the moon, or the rings around Saturn. We get the occasional recreational visitor, showing up when it’s pouring down with rain; they don’t realise there’s nothing to see. We can’t even open the observatory dome in that weather.

Yvonne van Loon (40)

Go-go dancer / entertainer an owner of Onstage International

Text: Danielle Linders
Image: Eddie Mol

Welcome to the night of… dancing on blocks.
“You have to be strong-willed as a dancer, because everyone has an opinion of you. For me, it doesn’t matter whether I’m dancing in a club or walking on stilts at a festival or family event; the audience has to love it. At night it’s – let’s be honest – all a bit sexier, but the idea is still the same: entertaining people. I am an entertainer in heart and soul. Perhaps my business would grow faster if I stopped dancing, but for now I still want to be on the stage myself. I can do that because I’ve always stayed far away from alcohol and drugs. People quickly get the idea that I’m a wild girl, but don’t bother calling me on my day off if you feel like going to the club; I’ll be vegging on the couch in my sweatpants.”

Mahinder Brispat

City cleaner Ergon

Text: Paul van Vugt 
Image: Eddie Mol

Welcome to the night of… city sanitation services in Eindhoven
Never before had I seen such a mess than after the Covid curfew riots. The violence that exploded around Stationsplein. That day is a dark chapter for the city of Eindhoven. For the business owners, the residents.

Together with our colleagues from Ergon, during the night we make sure that the city can start its day clean. Right down to the last cigarette end. When left lying around for a long time, even this small piece of waste is extremely unfriendly to the environment and to the image of the city.

Those cigarette ends stood in stark contrast to all the glass, stones and burnt-out cars that appeared from one night to the next. The charred bicycles and scooters. We had volunteers helping us clear Eindhoven of rubbish until the wee hours of the morning. The appreciation expressed by the public was tremendous. We received compliments, cards, sausage rolls, chocolates, even Chinese food.

As a proud Eindhoven citizen, it affects me when I see my own city in ruins. But let’s look at it from the opposite positive point of view, a clean city feels good. It makes people happier. Proud of their living and working environment. That’s what I do it for.