HAPPY SHOPPER #5: DAN RHODESHAPPY SHOPPER #5: DAN RHODES

Dan Rhodes is a liar. He once promised me that he was never going to write another book. And then he wrote more books. I am glad he is a liar because I'd prefer a new Dan Rhodes book than almost any other kind of book I can think of. Unless it was a book bound in gold with pages made out of £50 notes maybe. I am proud to present the latest in our consumer series - Dan Rhodes - Happy Shopper.


1) What was the last electrical appliance you bought?

A bagless Panasonic vacuum cleaner, after my trusty Electrolux lost its suck. It's very satisfying to look through clear plastic at all the dust and body hair that you've sucked up.

2) How many shoes do you own?

Ten pairs if you include wellies, walking boots and slippers. An excessive amount, but most of them are knackered and reserved for decorating, which is something I never quite get around to. A lot of them come from Vegetarian Shoes in Brighton, which ought to be a high street brand.

3) Thinking about only what you are wearing now and including your watch, jewellery and glasses if you wear them, how much would it cost me to get dressed up just like you? And where would I have to go to get the look

I'm wearing nothing but a dressing gown from Habitat, which I think was about £30, and my wedding ring from Tiffany's in San Francisco which cost a few hundred dollars. And it's lunchtime - this is why I came into showbiz.

4) What are you going to be eating for dinner tonight?

Something involving left over spring onions, potatoes, dairy-free sour cream and maybe some spinach from the back yard.

5) What is the most amount you have ever spent on a bottle of wine or other alcoholic beverage and when and where was it?

Per millilitre of alcohol, it would probably be a pint of beer in an outdoor bar in Oslo, which set me back seven or eight quid.

6) What and where is your favourite shop?

Booksmith on Haight Street in San Francisco. I met my wife there, see - you don't get that on Amazon.

7) How do you get around town?

Usually shanks' pony or the bus, but in a Suzuki Wagon R+ for big shops - a car specifically designed for the over eighties.

8) Where is your favourite place to holiday?

These days, the Pembrokeshire coast in the deep midwinter.

Find out more:

Visit Dan here: http://www.danrhodes.co.uk/

Lake , Editor, London
the first journalism Lake ever had published was a history of Johnny Thunders for Record Collector magazine, since then he has written for publications including the Guardian, Dazed and Confused, the Idler and more recently, outsideleft.com as you have just seen. (biography/all stories)