Waiting for Dinny

Sometimes you accidentally hear things on the car radio. Most often snatches of things that interest you a bit, but you don't always get a chance to listen to the complete program. Of course on this Bastille Day I heard snatches of a Paris story as I was driving around town and my interest was caught. I had to seek it out when I got home.

Waiting for Dinny is a wonderful exploration of grief, longing,  internet web cams and an black dog in Parisian courtyard. Jonathon Otis sat in Melbourne but looking outward to the world, and comes across a black labrador that looks very much like his own childhood black lab. Through the magic of the internet this is the rather ordinary looking courtyard that inspired Jonathon. And a picture of Antonio and Kika.

By the end Jonathon has fallen under Paris's spell too.

There is nowhere else I'd rather be. 

I feel lucky to be in this remarkable city which has always been here waiting for me to find my way to it. I resolve to make it a fixture in my life, to be here as often as I can. 

I feel exactly as Jonathon does.

Jonathon and his daughter visited the Stravinsky Fountain. Nestled between the Centre Pompidou and Paroisse Saint Merri in the 4th. It is the rather distinctive work of Niki de Saint Phalle and Jean Tinguely. We visited the Stravinsky Fountain on a perfect summer day in 2013.

I hope the audio is available worldwide, but I'm not sure if it is. There is also a transcript of the original article Waiting for Dinny, which forms the first part of the audio Waiting for Dinny.

Tonight I'm thinking back to my 2013 Bastille Day in Paris after partying at the Bal des Pompiers the night before.

Paris in July