Some 13 years ago, Sylvia Vetta embarked on a third career. Having been a teacher and ran an antiques centre at Oxford’s Jam Factory, she started to write about antiques for The Oxford Times magazine Limited Edition. Oxford Castaways is a collection of her interviews with Oxfordshire personalities for the magazine, in which she asked them the question: “Which work of art, object or book would you take to a desert island?”

The book, illustrated by artist Weimin He and with portraits by photographers from The Oxford Times, is already on sale for £8.99 and will have its public launch at a gala dinner in aid of Kennington Library on March 24. Tickets, £12.50, from Friends of Kennington Library 07809 054969 and Kennington Library 01865 730763.