I love eavesdropping but there are things I shouldn’t have to hear in public

August 2, 2026 — 5:00am

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Last week, I found myself sitting between two groups of French people who didn’t know each other. Their melodic dialect swayed as if we were sitting on the banks of the Seine. In reality, we were at Abbotsford Convent.

They didn’t know I was eavesdropping, and were no doubt a little more unfiltered in expecting that the people around them wouldn’t understand French. And they were right, I didn’t understand a word of it. But I felt transported. Despite being 10 minutes from home, I was back in the arrondissements, with a natural craving for red wine, cigarettes and cheese at 12 o’clock in the afternoon.

There’s something about hearing a language you don’t understand that makes people a little more open and unfiltered. When that’s the case, it’s easy to think no one is listening.

Every week since 2007, cartoonist Oslo Davis has been contributing to The Sunday Age as part of his Overheard series. I love these cartoons, but until recently, had not considered how often I found myself doing the same thing: overhearing. I’m always on the lookout. A line, a moment, a snapshot of a life lived.

There’s something voyeuristic about eavesdropping. Not in the Alfred Hitchcock sense – no binoculars, intense music or........

© The Age