Mr Bruce tugs at his lycra jumpsuit, wipes the sweat from his face and breathes heavily.

“I love a bit of hardcore drum & bass on a Sunday afternoon!” he shouts, before telling us we are in for another few minutes of heavy jungle.

The frontman of duo The Correspondents cuts a surreal figure as he leaps around the stage to a pulsing set of electro-swing at Wychwood Festival on the hottest day of the year, so far.

The crowd of thousands watch him with wry smiles from picnic blankets and deck chairs – though a couple of hundred fun-lovers have pulled themselves on to their feet to jiggle around a bit.

It’s a typical Wychwood moment. There are few more mixed-up festivals than this. Where else would you find vintage jazz-flavoured jungle squeezed between brassy folk (Keston Cobblers Club) and 70s ska (The Selecter)? The previous day we had 90s dance from the Stereo MCs butting up against gorgeous-voiced Yorkshire folkie Kate Rusby; Bruce Foxton’s Mod continuity project, From the Jam ('jam'-packed with all those pogo-worthy hits: The Eaton Rifles, Going Underground and the rest); Dreadlock Holiday stars 10CC and The IT Crowd and Toast of London joker Matt Berry.

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A Wychwood novice might suggest the line-up was put together by a blind man with a list of bands and a pin, but those of us who love this eccentric get together know differently.

It is curated with love by Witney’s Graeme Merifield and his friends – and that shines through.

As if to underline its wilful lack of convention, Sunday’s headliner wasn’t a band at all – but a comedian, the great Bill Bailey – who delighted with an hilarious set peppered with musical interludes. A section where the crowd were invited to suggest ordinary songs which would sound better as death metal songs was particularly funny. We even made our own Moby-style ambient electronica through the use of sampling.

It started in more traditional music festival style on Friday with indie-rock legend Peter Hook (of New Order) and The Light and The Waterboys - whose blend of folk and rock sums up the ethos of Wychwood - if indeed there is such a thing. 

Saturday was owned by 70s survivors 10CC, but perhapos the most fun was to be had earlier with the aforementioned Matt Berry with his band The Maypoles - which includes Bluetones frontman Mark Morris. 

While far fron his usual comic set, Berry can't twitch a muscle, frown or raise a cheeky eyebrow, without it looking studied - and hilarious. And then there's that voice - which has made him not just a sit-com cult hero but a voiceover doyen - a rich seam of humour he mines in Toast of London, the theme to which he treated us to, introducing it with a dedication to the show's ludicrous hipster soundman, Clem Fandango.

Most of the set consisted of jazz-prog noodling and hard space-rock. Was it a parody? Apparently not. That didn't prevent a feeling that something silly was going to happen at any moment. It didn't; it was actually rather good.

Keston Cobblers Club followed, and couldn't have been more different, with their modern twist on folk-rock. Think Mumford & Sons - but better and less formulaic.

Formulaic is not a criticism that one would level at Kate Rusby, who charmed a chilled out, largely horizontal crowd with her lilting folk tunes and shanties, delivered in a sweet Yorkshire accent and accompanied by some stirling guitar work.

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Arms in the air: Keston Cobblers Club

There was more humour over in the Big Top, where Mr B The Gentleman Rhymer was also sweltering, dressed in a dapper tweed suit and sporting a well-groomed handlebar moustache.

Mr B is a rapper - but one who does it in thestyle of a Victorian chap. he calls it Chap-hop, and it is quite hilarious. Best of all is the finale, where he kicks into a 90s indie-rock and rave-dance mdley, all in aristocratic style and accompanied by his banjolele. It's extremely clever stuff; deviously imaginative and probably hellishly difficult.

As for rave, Stero MCs provided the real thing back on the main stage - frontman Rob Birch leaping around the stage, T-shirt pulled up, and hat pulled over eyes as if the past 25 years haven't happened.

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He doesn't even look that different - being a little care-worn back in the day, too. The hits were there - Connected and Step It Up getting the biggest reaction from a crowd dying to leave the folk behind and have something to dance to (or was that just me?) into the evening.

10CC followed and turned the tempo down, but went down well nonetheless. 

But it was the general atmosphere of the place which was the real star.

Presented with an expanse of asphalt and grass in the shadow of the monstrous racecourse grandstand, the Wychwood team create a slice of wholesome festival heaven which gave us that most precious of commodities: a sunny weekend of pure escapism.

5/5