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Dugald Jellie is a Melbourne writer and gardener.

‘Does a spirit level measure happiness?’ The cute things kids ask during woodwork

‘Does a spirit level measure happiness?’ The cute things kids ask during woodwork

Building a stick fence and cubby house provides a bunch of children – and one grown man – with lessons in collaboration.

  • by Dugald Jellie

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As a single dad, every other week I’m a soccer referee, a sculptor and a fisherman

As a single dad, every other week I’m a soccer referee, a sculptor and a fisherman

“Sometimes the fathering is wonderful, but mostly it’s a routine. Piles of washing, finding school uniforms, bowls of porridge...”

  • by Dugald Jellie
Other dads once gave me a bigger life. Now I could do the same for Arturo

Other dads once gave me a bigger life. Now I could do the same for Arturo

A weekend in the bush sparks warm memories of childhood experiences.

  • by Dugald Jellie
My young sons loved my new partner. Then I had to tell them she’d left

My young sons loved my new partner. Then I had to tell them she’d left

I’ve shown my boys how it is to love again. Now that love has gone, it’s time to show them what to do next. 

  • by Dugald Jellie
‘I’m too old for this. But…’: The joys of working as a 50-something dish hand

‘I’m too old for this. But…’: The joys of working as a 50-something dish hand

A writer baulks at the mundane job he’s wound up with, before discovering some valuable lessons among the soap suds.

  • by Dugald Jellie
When I became a father, I was the oldest first-time dad I knew

When I became a father, I was the oldest first-time dad I knew

Australian dads are among the oldest in the world, a trend that’s causing a societal shift with all sorts of untested ramifications, writes Dugald Jellie.

  • by Dugald Jellie
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How dinner at the kitchen table fed my appetite for family time

How dinner at the kitchen table fed my appetite for family time

Sick of screen obsessions and worried about too many TV dinners, a single dad reaches back into his own childhood to find a solution.

  • by Dugald Jellie
‘It almost broke me’: How a house move exposes the impermanency of life

‘It almost broke me’: How a house move exposes the impermanency of life

Moving to a new place involves an inevitable stocktake – not just of your goods, but of your emotional life.

  • by Dugald Jellie
Last year I separated and turned 50. Then Dorothy swept me off my feet

Last year I separated and turned 50. Then Dorothy swept me off my feet

Hardly a midlife crisis, it’s more a car as contraceptive. I’ve become the invisible man in the milky white work ute.

  • by Dugald Jellie
‘To be faraway, someplace else’: my endless fascination with maps

‘To be faraway, someplace else’: my endless fascination with maps

To be curious about maps is to be interested in life.

  • by Dugald Jellie
Playgrounds are open but there’s a better way to empower children
Opinion
Parenting

Playgrounds are open but there’s a better way to empower children

Playgrounds may have reopened, but I hope these long lockdown days have made people rethink how children play.

  • by Dugald Jellie

Original URL: https://www.watoday.com.au/by/dugald-jellie-p4ywcz