Lichfield author dances into print on Shrove Tuesday as new book celebrates Britain's most eccentric traditions

There could not have been a more fitting stage for a book launch. On Shrove Tuesday — the same day that Lichfield's Market Square filled with the laughter and flour-dusted frenzy of its annual Shrovetide Fair and Pancake Race — author Anna Hallett stepped outside Waterstones bookshop on Market Street to celebrate the publication of her third book: Traditions Observed: From Bun Throwing to Swan Upping.