IF YOU'VE ever thought you might have a Zara ‘problem’ rest assured that your love for it is dim compared to the full wattage of Rod Stewart’s unadulterated passion.
Rod’s Zara confession is contained in a brilliant interview with The Times which offers a glimpse behind the white curtain (£19.99 in the Zara homeware sale) and into Stewart’s sanctum.
Revelations contained in this article include Rod’s three outfits a day habit, his first heartbreak at age 60 when his marriage to Rachel Hunter ended and how he feels about his hair.
It is, he says, “just hair, and it won’t lie down”. So there you have it Rod fans, nothing to see here. Just some feathering, a good blow dry, dribble of bleach and an unwillingness to lie down.
His need for a Zara fix though is something else and he indulges the habit anywhere in the world that he finds a branch of the high street store.
“Love it,” he says. “I’ll probably go to every Zara in the United States on this next tour. My midday excursion. The boys go, ‘He’s going to Zara. Get the car round’.”
No way! Slebs, they’re just like us. Minus the ‘get the car, I’ve too many bags to carry’.
Rod is a man on a mission when he sets foot in Zara. He has no time for chit chat, no need for chit chat and and certainly no requirement for a changing room, thank you and good night.
“...the people that work in Zara have a reputation for being very cold. You don’t get any help in Zara. Have you noticed?... But I was in Zara the other day and two girls came up. They said, ‘Sir, can we help you?’ I said, ‘What? Zara, you’re helping me?’ They said, ‘Yes, sir. It’s our new policy around the world. Everybody has to have a smile on their face.’
“But I don’t need help, because I know my size in Zara. I don’t even try it on.”
He also plans outfits days in advance, likes to “change outfits three times a day” and wouldn’t mind being “a window dresser”.
Do pyjamas and the clothing you wear to work count as two outfits? Asking for a friend...
Rod is also colour blind “so sometimes with my purples and my blues and my lavenders” he has to ask his wife Penny Lancaster.
“She’ll say, ‘No, darling,’ or she’ll go, ‘Absolutely spot on.’ ”
So there you have it Hot Rod Fans – next time he plays Belfast you’ll know where to find him at noon on the day of the show.
Warren Beatty dislikes camping shocker
ANNETTE Bening is married to Warren Beatty. Annette likes to sleep in a tent and cook over a fire. Warren does not.
“I like luxury but it’s not key," is how Annette began to address the sleeping under the stars situation.
"I did a lot of camping. My husband is not a camper – that might not be a surprise to you.”
You're right Annette, it is not.
She continued: “As a young adult I used to go camping with friends at the weekend. That’s not luxurious. I wanted to be out in a quiet spot somewhere, sitting on the ground, cooking over a fire. I’m really happy doing that.”
Sleb Safari is now picturing Annette in the back garden with a one-man tent from Decathalon, heating beans over a camping stove, while Warren waves at her through the kitchen window. It hopes you're picturing it too.
Competition - win a voucher for Divils in Omagh Omniplex
THIS week Sleb Safari has four vouchers for the new Divils ice cream and coffee spot in Omagh Omniplex to give away. The vouchers entitle the winner to a free big Divils ice cream and a regular coffee.
Divils allows you to customise your ice cream and has enough sauces, sweets and jellies to satisfy the most vivid imagination.
Divils also offers customers free parking, free wifi and plenty of places to charge your laptop or phone. If that doesn't scream dream business meeting location then Sleb Safari despairs of you.
To be in with a chance of winning one of the four vouchers answer the following question correctly: What's the name of the road in Omagh on which the Omniplex stands? The closing date is noon on Wednesday September 13.
Email your answer to competitions@irishnews.com and mark your entry 'Divils/Sleb Safari competition'. Please include your name, address and a contact number. Usual Irish News rules apply.
Jawbox Competition Winner
THE winner of a bottle of Jawbox pineapple and ginger gin is Michele McKeown from Belfast. Congratulations!
