Cropredy 2003 The Oven Year
This year our pre festival plans were thrown into mild confusion with the news that Jenny's aunt had died and the funeral would be held on Thursday. But that is Cropredy. OK thinking caps on. Jenny then woke up at 5 '0' clock one morning with the solution. I would set off in the morning to meet up with the rest of the list convoy in the lay by. She would catch the train to London and Orpington and from there back to Banbury. How do you get from Banbury to the festival? Bus - no buses to the festival site after 6.15pm. Taxi - turned out they were looking for £20 plus. The solution - I put up the tent and then drive into Banbury park the car at the station and then get a lift / bus back to the festival. Many thanks to Mark M for the lift. Hope the wait for the first pint, well can of cool Pimms wasn't too long :-) Thanks also to those who lent me their phones for texting purposes. I still wonder at modern technology that allows you to communicate from the middle of a cow field to a train doing 100 mph. Thanks also to Chris and Mark for organising the convoy this year - how we managed to be close to the trees was remarkable and extremely welcome. I was back at the tent to meet up with Jenny for Lindisfarne and from there that they did a very good set and would have loved to have been there.
Friday was 'Colin's Day' - Mark McCulloch has written about this:
Colin's Day by Mark McCulloch
"Just back from what has to be the wierdest Cropredy that I've ever attended. It was my 20th consecutive Croppers, and it'll be the one I remember the longest.
It all started on Wednesday evening, when Paul Merrick called me. I'd offered him a lift to Cropredy, and he was a very close friend of Colin Lennox. Seems that Colin's ashes have not been scattered yet - he wanted to be scattered over the concert arena, and there hasn't been an opportunity to do this yet. Anyhow, Colin's sister had called Paul to make a somewhat bizarre request. As Colin had never missed a Cropredy, would we mind taking his ashes with us, and return them on Sunday?
No problem as far as I was concerned, so we set off on Thursday morning, me, Paul and Colin. Luckily, the listees that we camped with were happy to accept our extra guest. Still, it was a little odd...
Wait, though, because it gets better....
When David Hughes heard that Colin was with us, he wondered if Colin would like to go on stage with him on Friday? We felt that he would like nothing better, so if anyone wondered what was in the black zip-up bag that David took onstage and placed between the monitors at the front - it was Colin, finally winning our race to be the first one onstage at Cropredy. David was really good - he never mentioned the contents of the bag, but took a minute or two in his set to mention "his good friend that couldn't be here today, Colin Lennox". Thanks, David, it meant an awful lot to us.
Wait, though, because it gets better....
David finished his set, removed his kit, and went to sign lots of CDs. Um, forgetting Colin... so Colin was still onstage for the Bucket Boys, featuring Dave Pegg and Ralph McTell. Oh, he would have loved that!
It continues to get better....
When David returned to the stage after the end of the Bucket Boys' set, we watched him look carefully over every inch of it... then go sidestage... then back onstage... start talking urgently to lots of people... finally, a white-faced Hughes returned to us to explain that Colin was currently lost, uh, but don't worry, he can't have gone far. (He clearly didn't know Colin as well as he claimed, we thought that Colin was probably at the bar by now).
After ten minutes or so, Colin was found and returned to us. He'd been cleared with the Bucket Boys' kit. My, would they have had a surprise if they'd taken him home!
Yet, it gets better....
By now, all the backstage staff knew about Colin, and were howling with laughter. Dave Pegg himself was mightily amused, and I was later assured that "losing Colin" was the sole topic of backstage conversation. Indeed, Procul Harum dedicated "Seagulls" to "all our friends up there... and that bag of ash that's somewhere onstage." By that time, Colin was back in my car, where he couldn't get into any more trouble.
It still gets better...
While Paul and I were at the bar on Saturday, David found us and told us that Colin was still a major topic of conversation, and that DP was retelling the story to anyone that had not heard it. "He's made it", said David. "He's finally become a part of Cropredy folklore." Somewhere, Colin was laughing fit to bust.
It gets better yet...
Colin was given a ticket to the aftershow party! In fact, there were two tickets (thanks, Rachel) so that Paul and I could take him along. After a brief appearance, we brought him back to Stage 2.
Oh, how he would have enjoyed it all - a really good Cropredy, appearing onstage with three musicians he respected, becoming the subject of a story that will be repeated for years to come, going to the backstage party... and his sister was thrilled and amused when Paul told her about Colin's escapades when we got back.
I'm giving notice that I am not taking him next year, I've got too many new grey hairs from the experience! By next year, though, he'll have been scattered under the stage area, and he'll never miss another Cropredy. What I'll remember, though, is the sheer love that Colin attracted, and the way that so many of his friends wanted to honour his memory by giving his earthly remains the Cropredy weekend he would have never forgotten. His family, Paul, and I thank those of you who either assisted or just made him welcome from the bottom of our hearts."
Mark McCulloch
It was fun to be at the front for David Hughes (Yes we knew where Colin was!) who had the added backing singers of Chris and Julie, Jacqui McShee and Helen Watson.
What more can be said about Blue Tapestry (see the Chris and Julie review above). Yes we sang along to all the songs and even had a little slow dance at one point as well. I also know where all my guitar skills have gone - into Maarts little finger. The man is amazing doing Jaco Pastorius one song and blinding guitar solos the next. Yes they should and could have been the headline. Mark Gillespie was a find. I look forward to finding more of his music in the future. He can certainly come back to Cropredy.
Saturday was the real 'Oven Day' - about gas 6 I think. The coveted 'Oven Prize' goes to Donna and John who managed to go and stay on the field in the heat of the day. For others the music was in the distance as we sat under the shade of a tree, drank (Spitfire and more Pimms), ate (strawberries and cream and crisps - healthy living rules OK!) talked and generally got to know one another a little bit better. We were on the field for Albert Lee a fine musician who sure knows his way around the fretboard. Dennis Locorriere was superb and should have a longer set the next time he plays Cropredy. Freakin' at the Freakers Ball seems to have been a favourite as quite a few people have said that they want a copy. A couple of people seemed quite surprised that I knew the words well enough to sing along!
The food not as good as some years, there seemed less variety for the vegetarians amongst us. It all seemed just that side of expensive rather than a reasonable deal.
The loos - considering how hot it was it is remarkable that the only complaint I heard is that the smell of the bleach was too strong. I think that I can cope with that considering what they would have been like without it!
Stage 2 was its usual friendly mix of drink, music, stories and someone popping in saying 'I hope you don't mind if I sit a play a tune do you?' Then as usual they turn out to be either a great musician or singer or both.
Oh yes FC. A pleasant set but not as fantastic as last year. I would have liked PJ to play guitar on the Dylan project track. It was good to hear the Swarb tracks and they will need another listen or two. Chris While joined them for Who Knows Where the Time Goes which was a highlight for me. Matty Groves was the M*A*S*H start. Then it was MOTL and mobiles were dialled for friends who could not be in person this year.
A few of us went on down to the Red Lion in Steeple Aston on Sunday after the tents had been packed up. It's an old haunt for many years where we were able to sit and reflect on the weekend with a nice pub meal and great company.
See you all next time same time same place.
