In 1996, I was 13 years old, and I loved the Spice Girls.

Yeah, I said it.

I recorded the ‘Wannabe’ music video on VHS and learned all of Victoria Adams’ moves. My sister and I (4 years younger, and lover of all things sporty, including Mel C.) would stand in the living room in front of the TV and sing along, jumping, dancing and laughing all the way. And singing. Probably poorly.

My mom got in on the action when ‘Stop’ came out. She insisted, though, that the lyrics were ‘Stop right now, turn yourself around’.

I love the Spice Girls, and I wanted to BE Posh.

I dragged my sister to see them when they came to Montreal for the reunion tour and I may have cried a little. I know I danced. A lot. My crappy point-and-shoot ate batteries like mad, and I used six or seven pairs that night. I took video of Victoria’s catwalk strut, and gave my business card to a girl who had a much better camera next to me, asking her to send me the photos she had taken (she didn’t).

I still love the Spice Girls. I still want to BE Posh.

So when I came upon That Extra Half An Inch in the bookstore, I may have squeed a little.

I wasn’t expecting a whole lot in the content department, but I was surprised. It is witty, funny, and seems genuine. She doesn’t paint herself as a high-maintenance popstar, but a busy mum. A busy mum with a line of jeans, sunnies, and footballer husband, sure, but a real person with concerns about her bum, comfort, and which-shoes-go-with-that-bag.

That Extra Half An Inch was really fun to read, I smiled through the whole thing, and laughed out loud on the bus once or twice.

There are a few points where it does seem a bit like an advertisement for dVB jeans (with just the right amount of stretch in the denim, apparently) – but all in all I think it was a great book with valuable information in it. If you can call “if you’ve got your knockers out, cover up your pins” valuable, and I think I can.

Also, the bright pink petticoat she wears in a few of the photos may have (almost certainly) cemented my ‘need’ for a petticoat. Maybe.