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By SHARON FINK
© St. Petersburg Times, published July 23, 2001
IT'S NOT JUST A TV SHOW, IT'S A RESPECTED LIFESTYLE: Before Sex and the City, there was Absolutely Fabulous -- Edina, Patsy, female bonding, decadence, laughs, irresponsibility, all with British accents and no philosophical bent.
The show returns with six new episodes beginning Nov. 12 on Comedy Central. And "the world has changed" for the girls, Jennifer Saunders (Edina) says. They have a production group called Radical TV and are always in "pre-pre-production" on a quiz show called Have I Got Shoes for You.
Also, be ready for new wigs; a new car; and even a new drink, a bourbon concoction called "Verve Burbs."
WORLDS COLLIDE: The Body Shop has gained renown as much for its social conscience in developing and selling its bath/body/makeup products as for the products themselves.
But the company, which has stores in a few Tampa Bay malls, has had financial problems, and its U.S. partner says it's time to shift the focus from values to the bottom line.
"One of (founder) Anita Roddick's favorite expressions is 'passion before profit,' " Adrian Bellamy said. "I have a little challenge with that."
Bellamy sold his stake in the company back to Roddick and her husband, Gordon, for $7.9-million in shares and cash last week.
He entered into the joint venture with the Body Shop in 1998 when U.S. operating losses were $13.1-million. He had engineered an operating profit of $5.1-million by March of this year.
Just keep those 75 percent-off sales.
AND DON'T FORGET TO CALL HIM 'SIR': Paul McCartney, with a tour scheduled this year, will give just 72 hours' notice of dates in October, the Mirror of London reports. The move is for security reasons and to thwart ticket scalpers, the paper says.
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