Cropredy Festival

We weren’t expecting to attend this festival so this was very much a last-minute booking as we had a business meet with one of the performers.

Last-minute bookings when one of the party is disabled are challenging. So we got a room a few miles from the festival as camping is not a thing generally easy for those with mobility issues.

So great to be at a festival when we don’t normally get to those things. I’m a songwriter, composer and music arranger and my husband produces music. He plays bass and I am keys and piano. But we’ve always shied away from big outdoor events because his walking distance is limited. However error this time we were here to hook up with one of tbe bigger band members, so we thought we should do it.

Firstly, let me say that I love this type of event myself, the sort of thing where you can just lose yourself in the colour and sounds of so many people enjoying themselves. I was in my element, especially when Chic headlined on the first night.

However, everything was much more demanding for my partner.

After buying tickets, we found that there were no mobility scooters, they had all been hired out. OK, so we knew we would have to be careful choosing where we were sitting.

We sort of assumed that disability parking would be near the stage, but it was a long way away down a massive slope, which had to be encountered on the way back to the car. There was a system for converting ticket confirmations which was nowhere near to the disabled car park.

Cryptic messages were flashed out during the first day’s set about roads locally closing, but we only realised after the last performance that disabled drivers would have to wait a good hour on site until all abled bodied walkers had dispersed. This was distinctly odd and not very well thought out. So the next day we managed to park elsewhere….better but just poor information.

Anyhow, the acts were generally great. These get reviewed individually elsewhere. Thursday saw Fairport Acoustic, Merry Hell, Wilson Wakeman, Toyah Wilcox and Robert Fripp, finishing up with Chic. As a general observation, I really enjoyed the musicianship, and the chance to revisit some artists I have never seen live, and the audience was clearly appreciative. More original material would be my only improvement. Everyone wants to see what their heroes are doing now as well as what they did in the infamous seventies and eighties!

We’re starting Friday’s offering today and my mind is still open wide for something new.