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And her hallway moves like the ocean

“I was on the Manning River at the bottom swimming hole at the farm. There was this huge fallen tree structure about 60m tall. It was very grey. … we climbed over the top. On the other side was a huge bowl thing for skating and all these skaters at some point I felt it was dangerous to be there so I climbed back over. My friend stayed in the halfpipe and then this enormous tsunami came crashing down the centre of the pipe it was so loud and I could see all the water and I knew no one would have survived. The dreams along the river continued. I can’t remember what exactly but I remember walking up and down the river.”

– Babette’s Dream Diary, March 15, 2026

It’s been raining all week in Sydney. I am dodging pools of muddy water on my morning walk as I leave a response to Babette’s recent voice message. Despite the time difference in Paris, Babette immediately responds. It is 2.45am and she is still in her studio. She sends me a selfie with her visiting mum, Belinda, who is keeping her upright with avocado Ryvitas. I know Belinda. We met by accident in Perth, when Qantas cancelled our flights while in-transit to Paris. Ours is a friendship forged in the crucible of transit purgatory. In the transfer cab to the airport, we realised that I’d taught her daughter Babette art history at the National Art School. Over beers in Singapore airport, she rewarded me with several games of “Bush Rummy”, now a favourite card game that I will forever associate with that memory.