THE KIDS ARE ALRIGHT
ABC RADIO HOST AND CHILDREN’S AUTHOR JAMES O’LOGHLIN, 53, PLAYS TOUCH FOOTBALL TO KEEP FIT
The law may be black and white, but one-time criminal lawyer James O’Loghlin says his second career as a speaker, comedian and children’s author is far less predictable.
“I’ll run the first draft jokes past my kids and I know I’m on to a good thing when they laugh,” he says. “When they don’t, I have to change it. Sometimes I’ll even argue with them about it. ‘It is funny!’ But, you can’t argue with the reader.”
James’s first book (Unpopular Me) in The New Kid series was loosely based on his own experience.
“Dad was a management consultant on big building projects and we kept moving,” James says. “We moved to Canberra when I was seven and I left all my friends behind. I was an only child so my desperation to make friends was magnified.”
His next book, Very Popular Me, is about how lonely life is at the top.
“You’ve achieved your goal and you’re
popular, but then the threats start,” he says. “It’s Game Of Thrones in primary school.”
As a father of three girls, James says his home in North Bondi is a calm oasis.
“We’ve tried to provide an atmosphere where the girls don’t always want to run off to their rooms all the time.”
Who: ABC radio host and author James O’Loghlin
Where: North Bondi with his partner, actor Lucy Bell, and their daughters Bibi, 16, Nina, 14, and Lily, 11
Home is: A place to be unguarded, free and safe
Favourite thing: I’m 53 now and I thought I would stop playing touch football at 50, but I
just didn’t want to. Most of the guys are younger than me and it’s a great incentive to keep fit
Family photo: Full disclosure – we didn’t build that snowman. But it’s a nice picture of all the kids together. It’s important to break out of routine and try something new.
Bluetooth speaker: I sometimes travel for work and this small speaker is a great way to turn a cold, lonely hotel room into something that is more than that.
Book: I am always reading a book. This is the third in a heavily researched trilogy about American involvement in the drug cartels, from law enforcement to politics.
Yoga mat: Around seven years ago I was playing with Lily and when I got up off the floor I started to creak. Doing yoga has really made a difference to my flexibility and overall health and fitness. I do about 15–20 minutes every morning. More: The New Kid, Very Popular Me, Pan Macmillan, $14.99, jamesologhlin.com