August 21, 2009 — First a diplomat, second a fountain

Featured interviews:

• Hwaida Essam: deputy chief and minister plenipotentiary of Egyptian mission to Canada — [Download] [iTunes]
• Barry Padolsky: local architect who has researched Strathcona Fountain — [Download] [iTunes]

This week, we spoke with our first guest from the diplomatic corps. We were joined by deputy chief and minister plenipotentiary of the Egyptian mission to Canada, Hwaida Essam. We talked about what it’s like to live the diplomatic life in Ottawa and to work in Sandy Hill, a neighbourhood full of students, families, and small businesses.

During the second half of the show, I played an interview I recorded on Aug. 18 with local architect Barry Padolsky. He and I sat down to talk about the history of the Strathcona Fountain which, as readers might know, is at the north end of Strathcona Park – right across the street from the Egyptian Embassy.

As far as music was concerned, we played some tracks by The Creaking Tree String Quartet, a Toronto band with a guitar, mandolin, bass, and violin. They played the Black Sheep Inn on Aug. 21.