Marmalade sandwiches at launch of Paddington ‘parting gift’

IT WAS a fitting location for a book launch: the cathedral which had hosted, only six months ago, a memorial service to its author.

Michael Bond had finished the 60th-anniversary adventure for his signature character, Paddington Bear, shortly before his death last summer. He set it in St Paul’s, where Paddington is mistaken for a chorister.

Yesterday, it was launched with a half-term celebration at the cathedral, with the character’s favourite marmalade sandwiches laid on for visitors.

Ann-Janine Murtagh at the publisher HarperCollins said the book was Mr Bond’s “parting gift to all his fans”.

She added: “In a beautiful serendipity it is set in St Paul’s Cathedral where we will be celebrating Michael’s life.”

In November, the cathedral was the setting for a memorial service to the 91-year-old author, whom the congregation heard the comedian and author Stephen Fry describe as “a decent soul and a loveable man”. Stars from the

Paddington films, among them the actor Hugh Bonneville, read tributes from generations of his fans.

The first Paddington story was published in 1958, since when the books have sold more than 35m million copies worldwide and been translated into 40 languages. Paddington at St Paul’s is released in bookshops today.