Cropredy Traders,- the Fabulous, the Okay and the Downright Yuk!

[jude]

Now then my dear Cropsters of Infinite Taste (oops sounding a bit Anji-ish there!)

Cropredy Traders. Food and Non Food.

Which ones were brilliant this year and which ones got your goat (No not those cute little pygmy ones!)?

Who were kind and helpful and who couldn't have cared less?

I know some reports have been posted already in other places (and that coffee stall chappie has been noted) but if you wouldn't mind your thoughts would be appreciated

Praise as well as complaints please

Jude

[Paul]

Son and hair liked the Oggies. I really enjoyed the Indian that was further up the field on the Cropredy side. The young guy in charge had a great line in patter.

Paul

[Chris]

The biggest copmplaint that I have doesn't actually concern what was being sold.

Please, please, please - put a clause in their contract that prevents them from playing their own music. There's no need - there's either live or recorded music playing throughout.

Several stalls were banging it so loudly that there were complaints at times that those backstage(!!) couldn't hear what was being played on the stage.....so what it must have been like for those out front?.

It seemed to be worst on stage-left - on the right looking from the audience.

The Oggie stall was the find of the festival - the Real Sausage stall is always good value for miney. The Buffalo Burger stall on the field was awful, might have been buffalo some time ago, but so processed that it made me queasy. Get the local-ish buffalo burger / ice-cream stall that was up in the village - 1000% better.

[Polly Oxford (Andie)]

There was a lovely new silver jewellery stall this year, pricey but quality. I hope they did well enough to want to come back, they were nice chatty people too.
The lads doing the French coffee at the back of the field next to the crepe stall were very pleasant too, shame we had to queue so long, but the coffee was worth it.

[fat Billy(Bill)]

The oggies were great, so was the little pasta stall close to the music room.
the music room while fun was bloody expensive, hobgoblin was better.
sausage stall was great, some of the chicken/chip/burger places looked and smelled yuk!

[Chris]

There was a lovely new silver jewellery stall this year, pricey but quality. I hope they did well enough to want to come back, they were nice chatty people too.

I heard comments about the two rather expensive stalls - they had a lot of similar / same stuff & their prices matched....what a surprise! With their prices regularly over £200 (!!), I think there's only need for one.....

so was the little pasta stall close to the music room.
sausage stall was great, some of the chicken/chip/burger places looked and smelled yuk!

There were too many run-of-the-mill yukky checken / burger / chips vans. If there's the interest, while retaining a couple of those vans, allow other, more inventive stalls in. The Oggies were a revelation - interest must have been shown by other like-minded, not-so-run-of-the-mill stalls?....

[Sandra]

The Oggie stall is great. We were very glad to see it back. An Oggie was just the thing for a wet Saturday afternoon (or any other 'must have comfort food' time.

The Thai stall on the lane up to the Red Lion was the best of all. It would have been great to have had it on the field.

I bought nothing from the clothing and other stalls as I felt they were all too 'samey' and I had seem them at other festivals.

Maybe something different next year?

There was a great stall at Beautiful Days this year selling beautiful Indian/African lamps, mirrors and artifacts. I will try to get a pic. They would make a welcome addition.

Sandra

[Mix (Mic)]

I agree wholeheartedly with Chris about the music played on the stalls, it really was intrusive on some parts of the site, and did seem to be worst down the right, but the stall on the other side (quite near the top, dry ice and puppets?) was getting louder by the day, and by Saturday evening it was quite ridiculous.

The veggie food stall was my favourite, because of the Humous pitta, cheap and filling , they also did a decent cup of tea

Big Big thank you to the stall selling £1 rain ponchos, (I'm still using mine)

Mic

[Pastieboy (Trev)]

The oggies were foul horrible disgusting non Cornish ones . I wont eat them . I want a cornish pastie stand . I`ll thqueam andthqueam until I`m thick if I dont get propper tiddy oggies.

[Goaty]

(quite near the top, dry ice and puppets?) was getting louder by the day, and by Saturday evening it was quite ridiculous.

Agreed.  They were playing one of my favourite Zappa albums when I wandered past and even I though it was far too loud.

There was a great stall at Beautiful Days this year selling beautiful Indian/African lamps, mirrors and artifacts. I will try to get a pic. They would make a welcome addition.

Agreed again.  Looked fantastic all lit up in the dark.



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[Amethyst (Jenny)]

PLEASE keep the Crepe stall.. in fact can we have two please as the queue is always so long...

A couple of years ago there was a stall selling African stuff..  I bought two lovely and inexpensive tablecloths there...

AmyJen

[Andy]

Oggies good.

T shirt stall good.

CD stall, well, I caught the one guy without gorm, had never hear of Maartin Allcock and I had to be quite persistent to get the album, having enlsited the help of one of his more knowlegable colleagues.

Bar really quite excellent apart from running out of 6X at 18:30 Saturday.

Potato wedges with various additives notso good. Small quantity and lacking flavour of any kind.

[issy]

I've gone all of a blank ..for a moment anyway..  but I have to say the Oggi stall was magnificient    I am not a pie type of girl really, but these were great.  BIG, really fully of yummy filling, HOT and delicious.    ..and I love the crepe stall too.. especially chocolate and banana

There was a good mix of veggie and non veggie, and the Mexican was, fortunately, (and unlike the Mexicans at the 2 festies I've been to since Crop) omnivorous    Must have chilli in my burrito!

I like the emporium that does the indian things - clothes and wall hangings, and i did buy some clothes from other places too but they all tend to blur into one big amalgam and i cant remember which was which and theres no easy way to describe them which distinguishes them from each other.     ..and I liiked the stall that was selling those BIG bubble sword/wands for £4 a throw - last year i bought one for £8, and I havent seen them below a fiver at any festie except at Crop this year.   Those bubbles are great  

I take Sandy's point about the stall at BD...  I think she meant the one which sold lots of lamps and burners and was all lit up at night...  it was warm, the goods were beautiful, it smelt great...  just gorgeous..  I just went and sat in there to soak in the atmosphere.   That would be a great addition to Cropredy.. and quite different to anything else there.

Issy

[Keith]

The fancy goods stalls were ok, but too much Made In China tat. Tried to find a decent diablo but had to be content with a glow in the dark plastic job.

The Indian Take Away on the right looking down the field was very friendly and efficient - the food, especially the TVP curry was exquisite.

Oh, and a mention for the Greenpeace people from the Oxford Network. The organisers must have their hearts in the right place to allow them to pitch up and run a stall for free during the whole festival - despite a few drunkards slagging them off they did a good job, it would be interesting to find out what others thought of their materials, spiel etc.

[Squiggle]

The oggies were foul horrible disgusting non Cornish ones . I wont eat them . I want a cornish pastie stand . I`ll thqueam andthqueam until I`m thick if I dont get propper tiddy oggies.

Forgive me if this appears twice but it disappeared when I posted it and I can't find it anywhere.

Oggies are Welsh and great - these were very good.  BNC mentioned them in her set.

I always like the wedges' stall although the chicken tikka, or whatever it was, was not so good this year.  There was a really tasty beef and ale topping which was fantastic although I missed out on the mushy peas as they had run out.

Beth and I were miffed by three guys who thought they were really clever by commenting on the skirts we were looking at.  We could handle that but were disturbed by the cigar smoke which we can't stand.  The point is, smoking in a clothes stall is dangerous with numerous people bumping into each other as they wander through the very tight racks.  This needs to be addressed.  

Jan

[Squiggle]

PLEASE keep the Crepe stall.. in fact can we have two please as the queue is always so long...

A couple of years ago there was a stall selling African stuff..  I bought two lovely and inexpensive tablecloths there...

AmyJen

The topping's great but the crepe itself is a bit heavy.  Why can't the British make really thin, gorgeous crepes like the French - especially the Bretons?  (I'm learning about food.)

Jan

[Suzanne]

I liked the Oggies.  I also liked the pasta stand.  But, me being me (a clothes horse), I was rather taken with 2 of the stalls on the (audience) right of the field towards the top where there were some excellent bargains to be had.  More of the same next year please...

Ma sampled the noodles but said they got cold too quickly.  She also wasn't very keen on the chips I brought her.  However, I did notice that she spent a rather unhealthy amount of time at the crepe stall...

[gower flower (Shirl)]

I was looking forward to the Oggies - but disappointed in mine. It contained some inedbile gristley mean. Guess I was just unlucky!

Gower Flower

[gower flower (Shirl)]

LOVELY jewellery stalls, though

GF

[YaBB Master (Colin)]

The pottery stall (just up from the bar) wasn't cheap, but was quality. Daughter of YaBB bought me a great mug that is now used for my afternoon Earl Grey.

Leons was as always. Pricey, but two meals feeds three.

The Gourmet Sausage stand was as always quality and on a rainy Saturday evening can't be toped.

I know Chutney Polly will not return, but you could try begging.