To celebrate Stephenie Meyer's new Twilight novella, The Short Second Life of Bree Tanner, last Friday, Colman Getty worked with Waterstone's Piccadilly to deliver the first copies of this hotly anticipated new book to the store.  

In a scene worthy of a Twilight film, six barefooted and bare-chested werewolves carried a coffin filled with the first copies of the new book along Piccadilly. Heloise Devaux, the 14 year-old winner of Waterstone's competition to find the UK's biggest Twilight fan, led the procession.

A crowd gathered on the pavements, bemused by the unusual procession as it moved through central London, in the blistering summer sun.

The Short Second Life of Bree Tanner is the first new book from Stephenie Meyer in nearly two years and was strictly embargoed until Saturday 5 June at 5:05 BST (in line with the New York midnight release).

Waterstone's Piccadilly is amongst a number of bookshops around the country who celebrated the launch in true Twilight style. From Dublin to Dorchester and from Huddersfield to Hastings, Twilight fans took part in a multitude of early morning events, with special breakfasts, quizzes, vampire makeovers, fancy dress, goody bags and giveaways.

The Colman Getty team has been suffering from Twilight withdrawal symptoms since Breaking Dawn, and we can't wait to read about the new born vampire, Bree Tanner.

Blogger: Veronique Norton

A whole host of delicious baked goods went on sale at Colman Getty on Tuesday 1 June as staff set up a bakesale to raise money for JK Rowling's children's charity, Lumos. Lumos has been a valued client of ours for several years now and we have recently been working with them to launch their first ever 'Light a Birthday Candle' fundraising initiative on 1 June, International Children's Day.

Lumos works to put a stop to the systematic institutionalisation of disadvantaged children across Eastern and Central Europe. Tragically, year after year, the staff who look after children in these large residential institutions cannot give them the one-to-one attention that they so desperately need. As a result, 1 June is often chosen as a day for children to celebrate, however the notion of their individual birthday is lost - with many children not knowing their actual birth date at all.

'Light a Birthday Candle' asked families, friends, employees and community groups to raise funds by hosting a 'birthday' party, lighting a candle, baking and bringing cakes to work, or by downloading a virtual candle and making a donation via mobile phones. Over the last few months, we have worked tirelessly on the campaign, setting up a partnership with Netmums on a birthday party poll which was covered by GMTV and The Guardian, amongst others, securing a limited edition Lumos cupcake with Peyton & Byrne, the very British bakery, and generating coverage of the initiative in Grazia, Marie Claire and The Lady.

To show our support for the campaign, we decided to have an office bake sale of our own. Sarah, Sheerin, Rebecca, Scarlett, Lizzie and I took to the kitchen over the long weekend, slaving over hot stoves (in some cases), baking brownies, double chocolate cookies, mars bar crispies, lemon cupcakes, rocky road slices and a fabulously extravagant chocolate fruit cake.

Some minor hiccups were faced along the way, with Rebecca going backwards and forwards to the shop as she kept realising vital ingredients were missing. Meanwhile, rookie of the group, Sarah, who had never baked a cake before, got flour all over herself and the kitchen as her sister watched in dismay. There was also near disaster on the Victoria line on the way into work as Sarah dropped her cupcakes on the station platform...thankfully the delicious chocolate treats survived the fall.

All in all, the bakesale was a great success and our money pot was overflowing by the end of the day. All we need do now if fill in our fundraising form and whisk the money over to Lumos' offices.

Blogger: Ellie Backhouse

Last Friday I headed down to the Guardian Hay Festival to meet Ian McEwan, who had just been announced the winner of this year's Bollinger Everyman Wodehouse Prize. I was there to introduce him to the locally-bred pig who was to be named 'Solar' after his winning book. This is a tradition of this prize for comic fiction, which also sees the winner presented with a jeroboam of Bollinger Special Cuvée, a case of Bollinger La Grande Année and a set of the Everyman Wodehouse collection.

Events were in full swing on Friday afternoon when I arrived at the festival with Chloe Craven from Bollinger. The weather, though chilly with a Welsh breeze, remained dry and, ahead of meeting the pig, Ian took part in a discussion with Peter Florence on his novel Solar, and tackling the subject of climate change. "Novels don't work if you badger people" Ian told Peter, "which is partly why I have the comic frame."

As the event wrapped up, we made our way over to the Hay garden where Ian was due to be presented with his pig by judge Jim Naughtie. However, the poor pig had other ideas... More accustomed to the quiet idyll of his farm, Solar became quite camera shy when confronted with photographers and Hay festival revellers. Instead of basking in the limelight, the pig decided he preferred to stay in his trailer. After a couple of hairy moments, Ian nobly accepted the challenge and met Solar inside his humble abode.

It may not have been the most glamorous of locations, but Ian happily leapt over the pen to meet the pig in its familiar surroundings. He was joined by Jim Naughtie, and all three found themselves crammed into the trailer, alongside a jeroboam of Bollinger, a set of Everyman Wodehouse books and, mysteriously, a yellow rose.

It's not every day you see such a sight, and it made for a very enjoyable evening all round. Solar, you'll be pleased to hear, has returned to the safety of his farmyard home where he will no doubt be the envy of the sty for having met one of the UK's leading writers. He will also, no doubt, be rather relieved at the shortness of his new name - his predecessors have been less fortunate, with some christened 'A Short History of Tractors in Ukrainian', 'All Fun and Games until Somebody Loses an Eye' and 'Salmon Fishing in the Yemen'.

Blogger: Veronique Norton

CG enjoyed a night of champagne glamour as we celebrated the opening of the new £20 million Galleries of Modern London at Museum of London.

Guests at the glitzy opening party included iconic Londoners Sir Michael Caine, who officially opened the galleries, Barbara Windsor and Mayor Boris Johnson. The Pearly Kings and Queens added some sparkle to the event.

Sir Michael Caine and Boris Johnson at the opening of Museum of London's new galleries.

Martini cocktails and prosecco were on the menu, along with fresh oysters, popcorn in the new galleries' early twentieth century Minema and miniature cakes at Lyons Tea Shop. It has to be said, there aren't many places in London where you can enjoy a glass of something nice while standing in an 18^th century prison cell, or while strolling through a Georgian Pleasure Garden.

Blogger: Sarah Watson

This morning it was my pleasure to accompany American thriller writer Jeffery Deaver to his first broadcast interviews following the announcement that he is to write the next James Bond novel. Project X, the project's working title, was revealed today, Ian Fleming's birthday. The book will be published by Hodder & Stoughton in exactly a year to coincide with Fleming's next birthday.

Jeffery Deaver (c) Janey Airey

First stop was Radio 4's Today Programme with Evan Davis (one of the Samuel Johnson judges), followed by Breakfast News on BBC 5 Live. Cue many jokes about Daniel Craig and Bond girls. At one point Jeffery was asked whether there might be a 'homely American' love interest. No comment. Then it was on to the BBC World Service at the fortress-like Bush House, which Jeffery felt was very suitable.

Finally we were whisked away in a Jaguar to an undisclosed London location. That's it for now as far as interviews go. It's back to the States for Jeffery, who will spend the next few months penning the new James Bond book (not, however, on a Caribbean island, as Fleming would have done). We'll all have to wait with bated breath for more news on the book. If I told you any more I'd have to kill you.

Blogger: Katy MacMillan-Scott