Fairport's (40th) Cropredy Convention

... is my pick for 'festival to top all this summer'.

We packed our bags early on Friday morning, stopped at Argos to pick up a tent (one we'd arranged to borrow fell through at the last minute) and jumped the train, then bus, to Cropredy.

Anthony reckons he would have travelled all that way just to walk across the bridge made famous by the Battle of Cropredy in the civil war (see last entry for details) - the fact that we camped in the field in which the battle was fought was a bonus. And the music festival was icing on the cake.

Silly boy. For me it was still all about the music. And the people. We started by lugging our kit to the Red Lion Pub, where we found our friend Jules "on the wall" outside ... where we discovered that the wall is actually the cemetary wall, and people were sat around tombstones with their pints, guitars and fiddles. You had to be there for it to not be weird... Jules' mates were all fab folk, and before long we were yacking and pulling gags like old mates. We also caught up with Mandy from Melbourne thanks to the miracle of mobile phones.

Once we'd pitched camp, we wandered off to the stage, via the Pavillion bar, which very sensibly sells cider in 4-pint jugs. Deelish. Then the fun really began.

I am now the newest and greatest fan of the band Show of Hands. Check them out - ripping melodies, lifting lyrics. Loved it. Later in the evening, the reassembled lineup of Fairport Convention 1969 (minus the late Sandy Denny and Martin Lamble, of course, but with awesome standins) played from start to finish their legendary album, Leige and Lief, - voted best folk album ever by BBC2 listeners. Richard Thompson played. Next day it was the Strawbs (who looked hammered and sounded bona-fide 1970s - boo) wrapped up by 'Fairport and Friends'. Wicked. Saturday night's grand finale was 'Meet on the ledge', played at the end of every Cropredy, where they projected pictures up behind the band, showing images from throughout the weekend.

The very last one was us. Me, Anthony, Jules and some others, sitting on the wall, with our instruments, singing our hearts out.

Shame we'd gone to bed to listen to the last bit, and missed it...