Book launches can be strangely rewarding events. Publishers are often wary of them while authors of course love them, being the centre of attention surrounded by admiring friends, family and colleagues, signing copies of their book.

Our latest book launch this week, for Anabel Loyd’s delightful Picnic Crumbs, took place in a cobbled mews street in the heart of Belgravia. The guests were an exotic mix of London literati, Anglo-Indian movers and shakers and an impressive list of names from Burke’s Peerage. Just the sort of heady mix you would want for such an occasion. The author herself looked appropriately glamorous in a gorgeously coloured dress and everyone bought lots of books for her to sign.

It was particularly pleasing to see Anish Kapoor (right), whose Orbit sculpture now adorns the London Olympic Park, giving encouragement to Peter Haslam Fox, the young award-winning artist whose illustrations add considerably to the pages of Anabel’s book. All in all, a truly memorable evening.

Having hosted similar events in locations as diverse as the British Embassy in St. Petersburg and the Looe Sailing Club in Cornwall, I can certainly testify to the enormous pleasure to be had by everyone involved. There is invariably a collective sigh of relief afterwards, perhaps in reaction to the build up of nervous anticipation beforehand.