FEBRUARY 2002

27.02.02 GERI SAYS SHE'D TEACH IF SHE WASN'T A SINGER

Geri Halliwell says she feels like a real woman now and much better than she did as a Spice Girl. 
She says if she wasn't a singer she would like to teach English. 
And she also revealed a fascination with German men. 
The 28-year-old told German magazine Max her change from girly pop star to a real woman was "a natural progression". 
She said she had worked hard to lose weight only by working out: "There is no secret to my losing weight, I didn't do anything particularly special, in fact I was quite boring - lots of sport, conscientious eating, yoga and no sugar, and I also didn't diet. 
"I'm just the same as other women, and I found it extremely hard." 
Geri admits she isn't particularly political: "I don't know very much about politics. But I do think a lot of fuss is made about nothing. All many politicians do is shift large amounts of money from place to place. 
"For me politics is about the person at the top, there has to be somebody there that the people can trust. I trust Tony Blair, and although I don't think he is perfect, I think his heart is in the right place." 
Although Geri has sung for Prince Charles and worked as a UN ambassador she says she wouldn't step into the political arena: "If I wasn't a singer I would like to teach English. I love literature, particularly Oscar Wilde, and I think children would be great to work with, especially teenagers." 
But for now the ex-Spice Girl will carry on entertaining. "I'd really like to go on tour, and if my next album is a success then that is what I will do," she said. 
She also revealed a fascination with German men: "I find German men very masculine," she said. "When I've finished singing I'll move to Germany and marry a man called Heinz, then we'll live in a little hut and have babies called Hans and Lieselotte." .

21.02.02 GERI TO SPICE UP THE L'OREAL CAMPAIGN?

After her disappointing career as a solo singer, Geri Haliwell has been given a chance to prove her worth - as a beauty icon.
The ex-Spice Girl has been signed up on a £750,000 deal to become the latest in a line of stars to declare she treats herself to L'Oreal cosmetics "...because I'm worth it".
The Watford-born singer-turned-yoga guru will feature in a new international poster and TV campaign to promote the firm's products.
An insider said: "Geri is absolutely delighted to have been offered this fantastic opportunity. The TV commercial will be seen by millions of people and can only improve her image."
Geri, 29, will will be following in the footsteps of actresses Jennifer Aniston, Andie MacDowell and Natassja Kinski, model Claudia Schiffer and French footballer David Ginola when she flies to Los Angeles for a photo shoot and filming later this year.
She is not be the first pop superstar to recommend L'Oreal. Destiny's Child singer Beyonce Knowles was signed up in a six-figure deal last year. After leaving the Spice Girls, Geri's record sales have been disappointing and industry insiders believe she has lost her chart-topping touch.
Last year she made a yoga video showing the fitness regime she used to tone her figure. She is now looking for suitable Hollywood film roles with her American publicist. .

21.02.02 GERI TAKES TIPS FROM GOLF MASTER

Geri Halliwell has been given tips on her golf swing by Nick Faldo.
The pair met up as part of the launch of the Caltex Singapore Masters golf tournament.
Geri is in Singapore following a charity performance on Tuesday night. 
The gala event kicked off a week-long series of fundraisers leading up to the event at the Laguna Golf Club in Singapore.
Faldo, Ian Woosnam and Jean Van de Velde will also play in the tournament which runs until February 24 .

21.02.02 MORE WORDY WISDOM FROM GERI

Second autobiography on its way 
Geri Halliwell is to stun the world with a second book about her life. Her 1999 autobiography If Only was a best-seller, and publisher Random House is hoping the sequel, Just For the Record, will be a similar success. Geri has been trawling her diaries for 40,000 words which, with 125 exclusive photographs, will reveal to her public the inside story of her life. 
So why the need for another book? 'The last four years have been a rollercoaster ride,' she explained, displaying her flair for words, 'and a lot has happened to me. I want to write about the anecdotes, the behind-the-scenes stories and my own feelings about things as they took place.' It is thought that among other insights, this book will reveal the truth about the Chris Evans and Robbie Williams 'romances'. The world awaits. .

21.02.02 NEW AGE GIRL From Strait Times

Yoga spices up Halliwell's life 
The radiant-looking ex-Spice girl is happy to talk about yoga and the charity auction, but snaps when she is asked personal questions 
The post-Spice Girls Ginger Spice is not just a new-look Geri Halliwell but a New Age one as well. 
'I believe we are all on a journey in life,' she said dreamily at a press conference at the Ritz Carlton Hotel yesterday. 
Indeed, it made one wonder if her glow was just her perfect tan or really inner peace. It probably helps that when she does travel, she takes her yoga teacher, Ms Katy Appleton, with her. 
And more words of enlightenment followed: 'Never let your possessions possess you.' 
That was her response when asked what personal items she was donating for a charity auction to be held at tonight's Caltex Golfers With Heart charity gala dinner, where she will perform. 
Halliwell has donated several outfits, including combat shorts she wore at a goodwill concert in Oman for the British troops and a much-publicised dress she wore to a private supper with Prince Charles last year. 
Golf memorabilia from Jack Nicklaus and Tiger Woods will also be auctioned off. 
Wearing a urprisingly simple get-up of a black Stussy halter-top and jeans, Halliwell, who is also a united Nations ambassador, discussed performing which she said she loves. 
'It doesn't matter if it is a crowd of 700 or 70,000,' she said. 
She was less interested in talking about her private life. But, like the veteran performer she is at age 28, she refused to let her bleached-blond plumage get ruffled when asked about her dramatic weight loss since leaving the Spice Girls in 1998. 
'What does slimming have to do with charity?' she snapped back. 
She did concede that her weight was a problem once. 
'I've had my own struggles with that,' she said, referring to her publicised bouts with anorexia and bulimia. 
She said she comes from a working-class family which makes the ability to help various charities across the world particularly gratifying although she believes that everyone could be charitable. 
'It's the quality of the giving,' she added. 
She will be performing to a dinner audience of 700 people at the Ritz Carlton Hotel. All tickets are sold out..

21.02.02 'GINGER SPICE' CLOSED MOUTHED ON EATING DISORDER

British pop singer Geri Halliwell may be rippling with muscles after much talk about her drastic weight loss, but the former Spice Girl still finds eating disorders difficult to discuss. 
Halliwell or "Ginger Spice," who left the chart topping British all-girl group in 1998, and her former colleague "Posh Spice" Victoria Beckham have both admitted to eating disorders. Asked at Monday's news briefing if she would consider being a spokeswoman in the fight against eating disorders, which plague millions of women worldwide. Halliwell said her own battle had been very "personal" without offering more detail. The petite star, who supports a variety of other causes, added she did not want to spread herself too thinly. 
Halliwell, who is in Singapore to perform at a charity gala, showed off plenty of lean muscle in a black halter top and jeans and attested to the benefits of yoga. "For me, the key to fitness is feeling good on the inside. Having a healthy mind as well as a healthy heart," she said. 
Apart from weight, the blond star was also shedding some of her old wardrobe at the Singapore function on Tuesday. A ruffled lilac gown which Halliwell wore to meet Britain's Prince Charles, a pair of her trademark platform boots, and army trousers worn in Oman while performing for British troops, will come under the hammer to raise funds. "What's the point of keeping things? You should never let your possessions possess you," Halliwell said.

13.02.02 £3M PAD FOR GERI From THe Sun

GERI HALLIWELL has bought a £2.8million home previously owned by a Saudi prince. The singer has been searching for a secure London base since burglars drove her out of her Notting Hill flat last March. The four-bedroom mansion in West London fits the bill. A pal said: "It is surrounded by a seven-foot wall." The cash comes from finally selling her Berkshire mansion for £3.7million.

13.02.02 ENRIQUE SNUBS GERI From Soundbuzz

Hunky Enrique Iglesias proved Geri Halliwell's star is really fading - when he admitted he has no idea who she is. Iglesias was said to have left a British TV studio with the former Ginger Spice, but when a journalist tried to find out the truth, Enrique was totally confused. When he was asked about stories linking him to Geri and Christina Aguilera, Enrique politely asked, "Geri who?" When the journalist explained that Geri had once been a Spice Girl, chivalrous Enrique tried to make up for his gaffe by saying, "I wish that was true." .

10.02.02 EMI TO MERGE LABELS From MRIB Thanks to Leogin

Geri Halliwell, Robbie Williams and Kylie Minogue may find themselves changing labels because the troubled EMI Group have decided to reshuffle their artists and staff in a move that will mean the end of the EMI record label.
According to BBC news, the EMI Group will merge its labels into two global brands, Virgin and Capitol, which means some of its stars will have to move to a sister label. 
The reason for the reshuffle is down to the company's recent highly-publicised problems with profits and the costly cancellation of Mariah Carey's contract. 
The group now hope the streamlining will stem their financial losses.

07.02.02 POSH CLAWS GERI IN A SONG From The Mirror

VICTORIA Beckham has penned a catty song about permatanned ex-Spice Girl Geri Halliwell. Asked whether Watcha Talkin' Bout was about Geri, Posh, pictured right, laughed and said: "You're the first people to realise that." Referring to Geri quitting the band, Victoria, 27, sings: "It started when the fame and fans kept coming in, and then you changed on us. Then you told us you were cool and we were wrong. "When I call you on the phone you act like you ain't home. You're checking your caller id... Why you getting fake on me?" Victoria, who admits feeling betrayed by "disloyal" Geri, left, then sings about how their friendship has changed. "I remember talking to you constantly... we had a ball... but now it's 'let's do lunch'." Well done, Vic. Keep up the good work!.

03.02.02 SILLY ITCH, GERI From Sunday People

WE'VE all suspected it for quite a while, but now I've got proof that GERI HALLIWELL has gone absolutely barking. 
And it's her beloved pet dog Harry that's suffering from her strange behaviour. For Geri is so convinced that he has fleas that she keeps rushing him off to the vets near her home in Slough, Berks. 
But the star's mystified friends are keen to rush to the tiny Shih-tzu's defence, claiming the dog is as clean as a whistle. One pal said: "Geri gets really embarrassed when Harry scratches himself in public and thinks people will imagine that he is flea-ridden. 
"But the vet has checked him out so many times in the past few months that it's getting beyond a joke. They keep telling her Harry is perfectly healthy but she just won't listen.".