The former Top Gear and Grand Tour host’s Diddly Squat Farm has struck an agreement with Ocado Retail, marking the first time a supermarket player has carried the farm shop’s products.

From Wednesday, April 29, shoppers have been able to buy a selection of the farm lines via Ocado.com, where they will appear in the online grocer’s “Best of British” section.

The launch range features Real Ale Chutney, Blackberry Jam, Beer Mustard and Diddly Dunkers, with further additions planned later in the year.

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Ocado Retail partnerships lead Lucy Silver said: “Diddly Squat is an exciting brand to have on site and allows us to deliver a farm shop experience to our customers’ doors.

“We’re always looking for ways to support British products and expand the choice of local produce for our customers.”

Silver added that the partnership would also support the next generation of British farming through its work with The Ernest Cook Trust.

“We’re proud to be playing a part in supporting the next generation of British farming and outdoor careers,” she said.

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Diddly Squat Farm co-founder Lisa Hogan described the move as a “natural step” towards making the farm’s offer more accessible to shoppers around the country.

“Diddly Squat has always been about celebrating British farming in a hands-on, practical way, from what we grow to how we share it with people,” she said.

“Supporting the wider farming community, particularly by helping more young people engage with agriculture and understand the value of British produce, is central to what we set out to do.”

As part of the tie-up, Ocado Retail and Diddly Squat Farm are jointly investing in outdoor learning and land-based skills schemes delivered by The Ernest Cook Trust.

Our Lady’s Abingdon, in Radley Road, was forced to close permanently for financial reasons, according to its governors, who sent letters to parents in August alerting them to the news.

The Statement of Affairs submitted to Companies House revealed Our Lady’s Abingdon Trustees Ltd racked up debts of £1,555,596 owed to 121 company creditors.

READ MORE: Oxfordshire private school to be sold this summer

Security measures were put in place to protect the buildings and there was uncertainty about what would happen to the buildings in the long-term, and its facilities, including a swimming pool, and surrounding playing fields.

Now it is understood the buildings are expected to be sold this summer by the owners, the Institute of Our Lady of Mercy.

At the end of last year, a team of liquidators hired auctioneers Wyles Hardy to sell school equipment including the school’s fleet of minibuses.

Our Lady’s Abingdon (Image: Contributed)

The Hemel Hempstead firm, machinery and business asset valuers and auctioneers, staged the Our Lady’s Abingdon auction in November last year, and last month provided an update on the sale, although it did not reveal how much the auction raised.

A statement from Wyles Hardy said: “Following sustained financial pressures and the recent introduction of VAT on school fees pupil numbers declined significantly, leading to the school’s closure in August 2025.

“Acting on behalf of the appointed insolvency practitioners we delivered specialist valuation, marketing and asset disposal services as part of the process.

“Our instruction covered a broad and diverse asset base across multiple departments, including design and technology, domestic science and music, as well as plant and machinery, grounds care equipment and the school’s fleet of minibuses.”

Our Lady’s Abingdon (Image: Contributed)

A spokesperson for the Institute of Our Lady of Mercy said in March: “Over the last six months, following the handover of the site from the liquidator, we have been working diligently to both clear and secure the Our Lady’s Abingdon site, as well as reflect on how best the site can be used moving forward.

“Meetings are ongoing about the site’s future, taking into account our obligations as a charity, and we are hopeful to be in a position to share more information in the early part of the summer.”  

Our Lady’s Abingdon (Image: Our Lady’s Abingdon)

Following the closure announcement, schools across the county rallied to find places for more than 300 pupils.

In November, Oxford West and Abingdon MP Layla Moran wrote to education secretary Bridget Phillipson, urging the Department for Education to do more to protect families affected by sudden school closures.

Ms Moran said at the time: “Going forwards, there must be earlier dialogue between the local authorities and schools to ensure that pupils and parents’ interests are the number one priority.”

Blur guitarist Alex James, who lives on a 200‑acre dairy farm in Kingham near Chipping Norton, is no stranger to festivals.

As well as playing many with the band, he also hosts The Big Feastival on his land every August bank holiday, where he and his family run a cheese‑making operation.

This is a three‑day family‑friendly food and music festival that brings Michelin‑starred chefs, big‑name bands and tens of thousands of visitors to the site.

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Alex James at The Big Feastival. (Image: The Big Feastival)

Now, Mr James has hit out at the globally popular Glastonbury Festival, questioning the hype around the famous Worthy Farm weekender in a candid new chat with The Times.

He argued that, in his view, there are plenty of European festivals that outshine Glasto but never seem to attract the same level of adoration as the sprawling Somerset event, which covers hundreds of acres.

“You’d think it’s the only festival in the world,” he shared, describing Glastonbury as “a gory drugs bender” when set against more “underrated” gatherings such as Denmark’s Roskilde.

Singing the praises of the Danish festival, he went on: “Roskilde’s got amazing food because it’s Denmark, it’s just really civilised and the toilets are nice.

“It’s a wonderful, magical, Hans Christian Andersen fairytale of an event.”

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Glastonbury Festival. (Image: Newsquest)

Despite his sharp words, Blur have played Glastonbury’s stages on several occasions in the past few decades.

These shows over the years include an early slot on the NME Stage back in 1992 and headline performances in both 1998 and 2009.

Glastonbury drew around 210,000 people to Worthy Farm in 2024, cementing its status as one of the biggest music festivals in the world.

The event runs over five days, with the most recent edition taking place from 26 to 30 June 2024.

Although Glastonbury is usually held annually, organisers periodically schedule “fallow years” to allow the site to recover, with 2026 confirmed as the next fallow year.