As an outsider at Leiden University, what I enjoy most are the ceremonies and traditions. Every year on the Dies Natalis on 8 February, I photograph the cortège. It’s wonderful to see the professors walking from the Academy Building to Pieterskerk with the beadle (or beadles nowadays) leading the way. I always take a look in the robe room, which is a coming and going of well-known professors. With all these age-old traditions, it’s good to see that some things do change: I also photographed Tineke Schutte’s first appearance as the first female beadle at Leiden University.
