Olympics and Show of Hands Presents amongst the highlights of Saturday at Croissant Neuf

Saturday starts a bit slowly at the new van as we get to grips with cooking a fry up in our new kitchen arrangements. It all works out well in the end, and we get in to the arena set up for the day!

We decide to start in the Kids Area, and we're impressed to find that the big top there has a band playing who help to keep us entertained while we queue for hair wraps. The boys in our party (the children and the adults) get carried away on the crazy bikes which keep them occupied as they struggle to ride these bikes with mismatched wheels.

For a relatively small festival, there's an impressive selection of children's entertainment and craft workshops on offer, and we make a mental note to come back later in the weekend. It's nice to see that baby and toddler entertainment welfare is catered for too at Croissant Neuf. Keeping really little people amused in a safe and fun environment can be a challenge at a festival, and Croissant Neuf provides an area especially for them. I would also like to commend the provision of a special tent for feeding and changing nappies which is a lovely touch to help parents have an easier time of it at a festival!

Back to the music, we can't help but stop by Croissant Deux to sample The Boy and the Flatpack Band. Their songs are jolly, and we're very tickled with their stage decorations. They're obviously having a great time, and their enthusiasm is infectious so we decide to grab a cup of tea, and sit down to join them.

We're soon singing along too. When it's over we follow the sound of laughter back to the kids' big top where Clown Bert is doing some very funny things with a spotty broom and a water sprayer that has his audience in fits of giggles. The afternoon beckons with The Olympics in the centre of the arena and a Show of Hands Presents show in the Croissant Neuf big top. Our ten year old opts for watching the Olympics, while we opt for the latter. One of the beauties of this small and intimate festival is that we can allow a little bit of extra freedom so once we've all arranged a mutual meeting point, we go our separate ways.

We've seen Show of Hands several times recently and always enjoy it so this seems like a fine way to pass a Saturday afternoon. The three hour slot kicks off with a set by Phillip Henry and Hannah Martin whose combination of lyrics and tunes have me spellbound throughout – they sing songs based on old English folk lore and true events, and accompany them with traditional English folk instruments played with great passion and sincerity. Rodney Branigan follows them on to the stage. I've heard tell that he can play two guitars at once, and that he is a highly entertaining chap so I look forward to becoming acquainted with him. He's been on tour with Show of Hands recently and they are obviously a great complement for each other. I'm a bit dismayed that I have to leave for a bit to get pizza as the children are getting peckish but I do catch the song about rain storms at Glastonbury which makes me smile.

Soon it's time for Steve Knightley and Phil Beer of Show of Hands to bring their special guest set to a close. Tracks such as 'Stop Copying Me', 'Youngstown', 'Countrylife', and 'Santiago' always go down well, the big top is crammed. Part of the reason that Show of Hands really appeal to me, is that they always accompany their music with little funny tales in between, and I love the story about the organ keyboard in memory of Phil's mum.

The set also includes 'AIG' (Arrogance, Ignorance, and Greed) and I wonder how it went down when they tell us they played it at Canary Wharf!

We're not really much in the mood for moving after Show of Hands so we hang around to see Christopher Rees and his band – in my opinion, they have a bit of a dodgy slot at this time of day as lots of people have moved off for refreshments and to prepare for the evening. All in all, the set is rather relaxing and we start to feel a bit sleepy by the time they're finished.

Usually at this time on a Saturday most festival sites are looking rather the worse for wear and I suddenly realise that I can't spot any rubbish in the entire main arena at Croissant Neuf. Not just a lack of litter on the floor, I realise that the bins are clear too. I have to hand it to the Croissant Neuf organisers and volunteers – they really are doing an amazing job at conserving the area in all its beauty!

We decide it's time to head back to the van and enter in to the Croissant Neuf spirit by getting dressed up as cowboys. In keep with the Wild West theme, there's a hoedown later on that we'd like to try, it sounds like a great laugh.

Before that, we stop by Croissant Deux to listen to some The Phoenix Rose but it's not really our thing so we move on quite quickly. There's a circus show starting soon at the trapeze area. Our daughter has already amazed herself earlier by getting up on the trapeze and "doing a mermaid" so she's really keen to see more. The show opens with an amazing show of diabolos performed by Luke whose skill and enthusiasm for his craft are contagious and he inspires many of the youngsters around us to want to do it as well as he can. Lucas is up next with his box and club juggling, and he's also a great performer who clearly loves what he's doing. Miss Ellie wows us with her trapeze skills, and there's even a runaway ape to add to the excitement. The finale is performed by 'Beautiful Nina' (as our daughter called her) who does some lovely aerial tricks by entwining herself in a long length of fabric.

We're a bit overawed by the end of it all, and although we stop by the hoedown, the children have lost their energy, and we decide to return them to the van. Once again, the gentlemen head back out when the children are in bed to sample the adult Cabaret.

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