Fairport's Cropredy Convention today announced a change to the line up of bands appearing at the festival on the 13th August 2010. Up and coming alternative country band Ahab will replace BBC Young Folk Award winner James Findlay.

James was to appear on the festival's main stage on the Friday afternoon. Unfortunately, he has had to cancel his live appearances this year and will not play at Cropredy.

Luckily Ahab will fill the spot. The London based five piece was already booked to perform at The Brasenose as part of the Cropredy Fringe and can now look forward to a main stage appearance as well. The band, which cites Fairport and Richard Thompson amongste their influences, combines instrumental prowess, powerful vocals and an indie edginess.

"It's a shame James can't make it," said Fairport's Simon Nichol "and we are grateful to Ahab for stepping up to the plate at short notice. Their music is fresh, energetic and very accomplished and we're suer that the Cropredy crowd will love their set."

Writer, broadcaster and campaigner Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall's River Cottage Canteen will be feeding thousands of festival-goers at Fairport's Cropredy Convention music festival in August.

River Cottage is making Cropredy the lynchpin of its first year of catering at festivals. As well as selling organic and locally-sourced food throughout the three-day event, the River Cottage team will stage a series of food-themed workshops to pass on their knowledge of the garden, kitchen and hedgerow to young festival goers.

"I am really excited that the River Cottage Canteen is attending this year's Cropredy," says Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall. "We aim to bring a taste of River Cottage to the festival through our programme of workshops and our delicious menu which we'll be serving up throughout each day

River Cottage only works with partners who share its ethics and ideals and Fairport's Cropredy Convention shares Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall's commitment to the environment. In recent years the festival has worked towards greater sustainability, increased recycling and a reduced carbon footprint. "We are big fans of Hugh's books and programmes," says Simon Nicol, Fairport Convention's guitarist and lead singer. "so we're delighted that River Cottage Canteen is coming to Cropredy this year. We hope it will be the first of many visits. I know our audience will welcome River Cottage. I'll be at the front of the Canteen queue myself. Cropredy is not only about the best in music, it's about great food and drink too."

As well as the River Cottage Canteen, Cropredy's audience can choose from 20-odd other caterers serving everything from Goan fish curry and homemade vegetarian fare to burgers and traditional fish and chips. There's Fair Trade coffee, freshly-squeezed lemonade and Cropredy's renowned real ale bar run by Wadworth, the Devizes brewery.
Acclaimed as Britain's friendliest music festival, the event presents three days of music in the open air. Now in its thirtieth year, Fairport's Cropredy Convention is Oxfordshire's longest-established festival and will star Status Quo, Rick Wakeman, top American act Little Feat and Fairport themselves. The festival takes place on 12, 13 and 14 August.

Acclaimed as Britain's friendlist music festival, Fairport's Cropredy Convention is Oxfordshire's premier music event. This year it celebrates its 30th anniversary.

The festival appeals equally to young people, families and veteran fans. It is run by legendary folkrock band Fairport Convention and great music has always been its hallmark. During that time, Cropredy has also developed a well-deserved reputation as a trouble-free and safe festival.

Cropredy features 20 or more bands over three days on a single stage. The festival has presented many big name acts down the years - among them Robert Plant, Jools Holland, Richard Thompson, Lonnie Donnegan, Jethro Tull, Seth Lakeman, Levellers, Steve Winwood, Ade Emdondson - but has also helped launch the careers of many up-and-coming performers and has been a staunch supporter of the BBC Radio 2 Young Folk Awards. However, Cropredy is not a folk festival - its cross-genre programming includes a wide variety of rock, pop, and acoustic music.

A host of 'festival fringe' events in Cropredy village feature live music from local bands to augment the entertainment on the main stage.

The farmland festival site in beautiful north Oxfordshire is licenced for  up to 20,000. Cropredy is only three miles from Junction 11 of the M40 and there is a shuttle bus to nearby Banbury railway station which is served by frequent train services from London and many other parts of the UK.

The audience ranges in age from toddlers to OAPs and people attend from all over the world including Australia, America, and continental Europe. Most festival-goers pitch tents or park camper-vans on the well-regulated campsites surrounding the arena although some arrive by narrowboat on the nearby Oxford canal. Tents can be erected beside campers' cars for convenience and security.

As well as great music, Cropredy is renowned for its huge real ale bar provided by Wadworth, an independent brewery. The bar is used by festival-goers and musicians alike (there is no back-stage bar) making Cropredy one of the few major festivals where the audience can mingle with the stars of the show.

Fairport's Cropredy Convention offers great value for money - it is one of the cheapest three-day festivals of its kind in Britain. Camping is inexpensive for those arriving by car (in fact, the price has not been increased for three years) and is free for people coming by motorcycle, pushbike or on foot. Click this www.fairportconvention.com

Fairport's Cropredy Convention 2010 - line-up of artists

Thursday 12 August 2010; 4pm - 11pm All acts subject to contract

Keith Donnelly and Flossie Malavialle Keith is well-known for his songwriting skills and top notch guitar playing and French chanteuse Flossie has a wonderful voice. As a duo, they supported Fairport Convention on their winter tour and were a big hit with audiences.

Banbury-based, five-piece Leatherat plays fast and furious folk-based original material.

Thea Gilmore Local lass Thea has a long association with Fairport Convention. Admired for her beautiful voice, Thea will appear at Cropredy with her backing band.

Pauline Black (Selecter) The 2 Tone record label was in the vanguard of the ska revival and The Selecter enjoyed huge chart success. The members have remained hugely influential ever since and original singer Pauline Black is a stunning performer.

Status Quo Absolute legends! After 40 years, Rick Parfitt and Francis Rossi still front one of the best live rock acts in the world.

Friday 13 August 2010; Noon - Midnight All acts subject to contract

The Tindalls This midlands-based musical family combine great playing with close harmonies to perform new and classic folk songs.

Mabon Six-piece Welsh band Mabon puts on a spectacular show with fiery original Celtic material. A classic ‘get you on your feet' act.

James Findlay (BBC Young Folk Award Winners) Fairport is very proud of its close association with the BBC Radio 2 Young Folk Award. Each year, Cropredy offers a festival slot to the winners. For 2010, we present James Findlay, a Dorset-based traditional singer and guitarist whose music captivated the Award judges.

3 Daft Monkeys 'Back by popular demand' is a hackneyed phrase but it's true of this Cornwall-based trio. Their fast and funky feel-good set will get the crowd dancing.

Little Johnny England Local five-piece folkrock outfit making their third appearance on the Cropredy stage.

Dixie Bee-Liners For sheer entertainment and good vibes Dixie Bee-Liners are hard to beat. Hailing from the USA, this energetic band has a unique and contemporary take on bluegrass and country music and is Americana par excellence.

Bellowhead A veritable folk orchestra, Bellowhead's dozen or so musicians present a riot of wonderful music and the band won Best Live Act at the 2010 BBC Folk Awards.

Little Feat Immensely influential on a whole generation, Little Feat is a truly legendary band. After many changes down the years, the current line-up is as fresh and bold as any of its illustrious forebears.

Saturday 14 August; Noon - Midnight All acts subject to contract

Richard Digance The customary Saturday opener.

Breabach Young and enthusiastic quartet playing songs and tunes from their native Scotland.

Martin Taylor Quartet Reinhardt-influenced veteran sidesman to Stephane Grappelli, Martin Taylor is a true guitar virtuoso.

Easy Star All-Stars Easy Star All-Stars are New York-based but have a worldwide following. Internationally acclaimed, the dub-and-reggae band has played in over 25 countries on six continents. Their inventive re-working of classic material has produced three of the best-selling reggae albums of the last decade - Dub Side of the Moon, RadioDread and Easy Star's Lonely Hearts Dub Band. At Cropredy, expect to hear tracks from these albums as well as the latest original songs from the band.

Rick Wakeman & The English Rock Ensemble Arguably finest keyboard player in rock music, classically-trained Rick has a wide musical pedigree and was a pioneer of electronic music. This will be his first visit to Cropredy and he will be backed by The English Rock Ensemble.

Martyn Joseph Revered singer-songwriter Martyn performs his first set at Cropredy. His rich voice and unique songs are spellbinding.

Bloxham School has won the 2010 Division One National Senior Schools Arena Polo Championships after an exciting day of polo involving the top 16 polo playing schools in England, played at Longdole near Cheltenham this month.

The 16 were divided into two ranked divisions of eight. Rugby School, who Bloxham share facilities and coaches with at the Rugby Polo Club, were the winners of the second division beating Stowe comprehensively in the final.

Bloxham’s final warm-up match had been against Rugby on Thursday and it was apparent that the match had done both teams a great deal of good.

Bloxham were ranked in Division One along with Milton Abbey, Millfield, Harrow, Cheltenham College, Uppingham, Wellington, and Marlborough.

Milton Abbey were their first opponents but Bloxham proved far too strong and scored freely to record a 6-0 victory over a fancied opponent. Millfield had beaten Uppingham to become their semi-final opponent and again Bloxham set the pace and ran up a 3-0 lead that might have been extended before Millfield launched a strong come back scoring twice and giving the Bloxham contingent some concerns. They hung on however to book a place in the final where Marlborough lay in wait.
The final started badly for Bloxham and they were one down within 20 seconds. It took the team some time to recover from that start but they came back strongly and lead 2-1 going into the closing stages of the first chukka but conceded an equaliser. Fresh ponies and a better start in the second chukka saw Bloxham move ahead with two goals in quick succession. Some great marking and determined riding saw them run out winners to claim a title that has been out of their possession since 1998.

The Bloxham team was made up of Robin Spicer, Charlie Aprahamian and Thomas Falkingham. Robin was the popular choice as MVP at the event and he received great support from both Charlie and Tom who made some superb interceptions, breaks and goals of their own. “I am really proud of the Bloxham team and what we have achieved. With two thirds of the team available next year I hope that polo at Bloxham will go from strength to strength. We need now to focus on the outdoor, 4 a side, version of the game but with confidence boosted by the National Arena title and with the great coaching we get from Rugby Polo Club, we hope to be competitive," commented Robin Spicer, Bloxham Team Captain

The Teams would like to give special thanks to Glynn Henderson, their coach at Rugby Polo Club and Old Bloxhamist Phil Baker the club owner and co-coach. Given that Glynn coaches both schools you could say that he did the double! Both teams benefit hugely from Glynn's great knowledge, encouragement and no - nonsense approach to the sport and are grateful to him, to Phil and to all at Rugby Polo Club for their help and encouragement throughout.
Pictured are
Schools & University Polo Association (SUPA) Chairman Charles Betz with the Bloxham team after the presentations.