I admit to feeling a little pasty and my pulse is certainly working overtime. But self-control is paramount at this moment and I call in all of the public speaking tips I’ve ever heard. Deep breaths. Rehearse and refine your lines. Remember to add emphasis and inflection. Be confident. Finally, the person before me steps aside and my cue arrives. It’s my first book-signing event and I am face-to-face with one of my intellectual heroes, author Robert Hughes. 

‘I, I’m sure you always hear this,’ I stammer in a disembodied voice, ‘but I just wanted to say that I’ve found your work very inspiring.’ Hughes signs my book with a flourish, looks up at me with a wry smile and says, ‘Funnily enough, one never tires of hearing that.’