* Pop star-turned-gentle-man farmer Alex James has once again proved his agricultural credentials by planting part of his Kingham farm with cereals — with a bit of help from local schoolchildren.

The celebrity cheese-maker was joined by pupils from nearby schools to plant wheat, spelt and rye on the rolling acres of Churchill Heath Farm. The crops will be harvested at his Big Feastival — the festival of music and food run with pal Jamie Oliver — between August 28-30.

This year’s Feastival looks like being a vintage event, with sets by Paloma Faith, Groove Armada, Ella Eyre and Grandmaster Flash. There are foodie treats from Raymond Blanc, Ashley Palmer-Watts, Nathan Outlaw, Monica Galetti, James Lowe, Gennaro Contaldo, Richard Burr, Deliciously Ella, and Alex and Jamie themselves.

Tickets from thebigfeastival.com

* Fans of Celtic roots music will no doubt be flocking to the Didcot Cornerstone tomorrow, for The Poozies.

And if one of the lasses in the all-girl line-up looks familiar, that’s because we’ve seen her before, though in a somewhat different context. Singer and guitarist Sally Barker was a finalist on BBC 1’s The Voice, after being taken under the wing of mentor Tom Jones.

Despite being the bookies’ favourite, Sally narrowly missed out on the top spot, but had the consolation of joining Sir Tom at three of his summer gigs last year.

Tomorrow she joins Eilidh Shaw, Mairearad Green and Mary Macmaster for a night of Gaelic and Americana-style tunes.

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* Henley Festival have pulled another top name act out of their Louis Vuitton bag. They have this week announced Spandau Ballet as their mystery Sunday night headliner on July 12.

With eight top 10 albums and 10 UK top 10 singles — including Through the Barricades, Gold and chart-topper True, Spandau Ballet are one of the most successful groups of the New Romantic era.

They join previously announced headliners Jessie J (July 8) Lionel Richie (July 9), Gershwin Spectacular featuring Gregory Porter and Laura Mvula (July 10), and The Gipsy Kings (July 11). Proceeds from the black tie event go to The Prince’s Foundation for Children and the Arts and local good causes.

Spandau’s Tony Hadley said: “Summer by the Thames sounds like an offer not to be refused. We can’t wait to see everyone there and raise money for such a good cause.”

Sunday tickets are £35 from henley-festival.co.uk