Essentially The Hague for Thursday 5 November: Home help cuts loom, MPs back off-peak deal, Elephant plays free

Thursday November 5, 2026

Good morning, The Hague. Today: MPs back a cheap year-round off-peak transport ticket, indie band Elephant play a free show on the Grote Markt, and the Gevangenpoort prepares cells that tell the stories of persecuted prisoners.

Gevangenpoort cells to tell stories of persecuted prisoners: Rijksmuseum de Gevangenpoort is rebuilding its permanent display around people jailed for their faith, sexuality, social position or politics, from women tried for theft to a man sentenced to death in 1730. It closes for four weeks from the Christmas holidays, with the cell building reopening late January 2027.

MPs back cheap year-round off-peak transport ticket: The motion, signed by MPs from PRO, the Christian Union, the Socialist Party and the Party for the Animals, covers trains, buses, trams and the metro outside rush hour. The cabinet must still check whether the plan is feasible. The earlier summer deal sold over half a million tickets.

Goldband film on Hofvijver project now free online: The short documentary follows Goldband's floating dinner concert on the Hofvijver last July, where civil servants served a three-course meal to invited guests who do not always feel heard by government. Those guests tell their own stories on camera. Omroep West broadcasts the film from 12 December at 17.00.

Sourdough and croissants return to the Denneweg in December: Bakkerij De Duif opens at Denneweg 134 on Tuesday 1 December, in the unit that until recently sold pizza at Vincenzo's. The street has had no baker since Bakkerij Hessing and Delicious Sweetness left. Alongside bread to take home, it plans filled rolls, coffee, kombucha and juices.

Maria, 20, speaks up as foster families dwindle: Placed away from home at six, she moved in with Gert and Ellen Oostrom in Moerkapelle at eight and now wants more people to consider fostering. Nearly 900 children were waiting for a placement at the end of 2025, and 2,216 foster families stopped last year against 1,418 starting.

Ben and Joke downsized after nearly 50 years: Stairs were getting harder and bedrooms sat empty, so the Delft couple, 80 and 77, decided last summer to leave their roomy corner house. A senior housing agent found them a smaller flat under a kilometre away. Moves by older people nationally have fallen roughly 10% in three years.

Second cochlear implant now covered for deaf adults: Zorginstituut Nederland widened the rule on 27 October, after studies showed a second implant helps people separate sounds in noisy rooms. Children and some adults already qualified; others had to manage with one implant and a hearing aid. Around 60 to 100 patients a year are expected.

Theresiakerk supermarket conversion starts on 9 November: Fencing goes up around the former church in Rustenburg-Oostbroek first, with interior cleaning and the clearing of the gardens following. Demolition of the neighbouring presbytery begins on 18 November, and weekday work from 07.00 to 17.00 may bring noise, building traffic and detours for pedestrians and cyclists.

Sjaak Bral now reads his columns in Haags: The cabaret performer writes daily about what he notices in the city, and the written column now has a spoken version too. This edition looks at a chocolate letter  from bakery Plasman, sold as the one the chocolate alphabet lacked. He calls that marketing talk.

Free home help would end under Hague budget cuts: The coalition of Hart voor Den Haag, DENK, CDA and VVD plans to save 10 million euros on household support, scrapping it entirely in 2029. PRO Den Haag councillor Vincent Thepass says older, sick and disabled residents stand to lose help they need, and wants the plan withdrawn.

Elephant play free indie rock on the Grote Markt: The Rotterdam four-piece back from Rockfield Studios, free entry, and the whole square turns 18+ from 23:00. 5 November, 21:00 - 23:30, De Zwarte Ruiter. POP / ROCK

Shared dinner and songs in five languages at NOORD Zingt: Six weeks of learning each other's music ends over a free shared meal, with singing in German, Farsi, Spanish, Georgian and Gronings. 5 November, Het Huisje van NOORD. CHOIR / VOCAL

Dvořák's Serenade, Górecki and a mandolin concerto in the Kloosterkerk: Conrad van Alphen leads Sinfonia Rotterdam, with Duo Mantar on mandolin and guitar for Avner Dorman's double concerto. 5 November, 20:15, Kloosterkerk. CLASSICAL

Microtonal premieres and Harry Partch replicas at Tuning Continued, free: Conservatory composition students wrote these pieces for an ensemble that works outside the twelve-tone system, on Partch-style instruments. 5 November, all day, Koninklijk Conservatorium, Studio 7 in Amare. CLASSICAL

Nine albums in, Fink plays PAARD with Angela Autumn supporting: Fin Greenall's band tours an album recorded in Cornwall using only 1974-era gear, with Appalachian country-folk singer Angela Autumn opening. 5 November, 20:00, PAARD, Kleine Zaal. SINGER-SONGWRITER

Club Pony's free late night in the Paardcafé, 18 plus: DJ Prosciutto runs through eighties and nineties classics, indie pop, dancehall and hits, with a welcome drink if you arrive before half-twelve. 5 November, PAARD, Kleine Zaal. ELECTRONIC / DANCE

Jazz, pop and fusion from the Julian Escobar Quintet in Laak: Originals with Dani Boting singing lead, from players who met at the conservatory, eight euros, four with an Ooievaarspas. 5 November, 20:00, Laaktheater. JAZZ / BLUES

Sexy Sixty, Angela Groothuizen on menopause, dating and self-confidence: She works the room with a quiz, sing-along hits and a different guest each night, and men are welcome too. 5 November, 20:00, Rijswijkse Schouwburg. THEATER

Whistler by evening light at De Mesdag Collectie, free with Museumkaart: Paintings and etchings from Whistler's Dutch years, live piano, plus a studio where you can make your own etching. 5 November, tot 22:00, De Mesdag Collectie. ART / MUSEUMS

Juliette Binoche in Trois couleurs: Bleu, with English subtitles: The first of the Three Colours trilogy, ninety minutes, Julie grieving her husband and uncovering what his life held. 5 November, Flora Filmtheater. FILM

Timeline of 125 years of child health care, free in the Atrium: Photographs, milestones and objects from the baby clinic and school check-ups, tracing the first Regentesselaan clinic to today's youth health centres. 5 November, 07:00, Atrium Den Haag. ART / MUSEUMS

Free book talk and panel on the Lampe and Plompen collection: Author Gaila Jehoel and designer Chantal Hendriksen on the book, then a panel with Navid Nuur, Margriet Schavemaker and collector Lex Plompen. 5 November, 15:30, Kunstmuseum Den Haag. TALKS / IDEAS

A day of mission trainings and podcasts at Festival van de Toekomst: Provincie Zuid-Holland brings pioneers and experts to the Binckhorst for a day on technology, security and where the region is heading. 5 November, 09:00 - 17:30, Fokker Terminal. FESTIVALS

Free identity-themed art night ID(Entity) opens at West Den Haag: The first of two evenings from Omnisfera Collective, with participatory performance Black North and a panel on culture and belonging. 5 November, 18:00, West Den Haag. ART / MUSEUMS

Seven weeks of writing and performing rap with Djani: Lyrics, flow, rhyme and stage presence over seven Thursdays at Het Huisje van NOORD, for young people with or without experience. 5 November, Het Huisje van NOORD. WORKSHOP

Kids write stories and poems at a free library hour in Segbroek: Children in groups six to eight browse books of strange words and drawings, then write a story, poem or fairy tale. 5 November, 15:15, Bibliotheek Segbroek. KIDS WORKSHOP

Take a study break over free table tennis at Book Pong: A table on the first floor in Studio B, no sign-up, and wall charts for tournaments if four to eight turn up. 5 November, 18:00, Centrale Bibliotheek, 1e verdieping, Studio B. GAMES / HOBBIES

Samba de Gafieira workshop, then free dancing at Latin Amare: Tarik and Vicky teach the basics for an hour, then two hours of Brazilian zouk and gafieira, free, walk in. 5 November, 19:30, Amare Studio, Amare. SOCIAL / DRINKS

Free two-part email course for beginners in Transvaalkwartier: Two afternoons on opening, reading and answering mail, writing your own, adding attachments and doing it on a phone or tablet. 5 November, 14:00, Bibliotheek Transvaalkwartier. CLASS

Monthly women's circle opens its season on the theme of love: Twelve people at most, starting with a check-in, a connecting exercise and a short meditation, ending with music or a poem. 5 November, 19:30, Yogastudio Corazon. WORKSHOP

Community Drinks moves to the EnergieKas rooftop greenhouse for climate week: Drinks and a panel on what climate resilience means and whose knowledge counts, for people working on peace and sustainability. 5 November, 17:00 - 19:00, EnergieKas. NETWORKING

Drafting conservation policy together at More life after ten: LCRDM convenes policy writers and cultural heritage workers for five hours on moving preservation plans into actual practice. 5 November, 09:30 - 15:00, Prins Willem-Alexanderhof. SEMINAR / TALK

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