Ceilidh-Jo Rowe performs at the Crown

Woodpeckers got me out this morning so we could work together on clearing an overgrown area of the garden, much of it coming over the garden fence from our neighbours, particularly the extensive brambles. It was tough going, and a bit of swearing ensued when the brambles tried to get their own back, but well worth it once we stepped back to see the useful space revealed again. I won't be able to sort it out anymore for a week or so, as I am off to Dorset this week, but it will give us time to plan how to best use the ground and the newly revealed beds.

After a quick toasted sandwich for lunch we walked back to the Crown and Sceptre for another drink and to enjoy the atmosphere of the Fringe Festival, which was very busy once again. The Festival occurs on a number of sites around town, but we have stayed in our own back streets to enjoy the local community turning out in large numbers of both young and old. There were only a few beers and cider barrels still left with any contents, so choice was limited, but I enjoyed a new beer very much from Stow-on-the-Wold.

I chatted to my neighbour Neil about his upcoming archaeological digs in the valley behind our house, and I must remember to go and photograph him in action again in a few weeks. He has been blipped a couple of times, but hopefully I can show him digging up some medieval finds, if not roman ones.

I then went in to the marquee to listen to the female voice I could hear singing with her small band. Ceilidh-Jo Rowe is a local folk singer who I hadn't heard before, although Helena had seen her perform before. She had a fiddle player and another guitarist, as well as the bass player you can see here. I have found it hard to adjust the image for the lights that were being used and the strange effect of the marquee's canvas. She was very popular and the music seems very suitable for such a sunny and enjoyable afternoon.