The oh comely team set off bright and early from London last weekend for the Festival of the Nine Muses. 

We set up an oh comely tea tent, complete with board games, scones and cake. Lots of Teapig's tea was drunk, including their strange but delicate tasting liquorice and peppermint blend. We also had a magazine library, with a selection of indie publications from Stack, such as Inventory and Teller magazines.

The Festival celebrates Greek drama, so there were plenty of classically inspired events throughout the day, and also nine real-life muses who roamed around the Festival wearing togas.

Music came from Johnny Flynn (whose baby son was spotted bobbing up and down in the audience), Marques Toliver, Chicago based Filligar, and the Shtetl Superstars. Poetry readings took place in the intimate Walled Gardens and Theatre Borscht put in an appearance too.

The day was enjoyed by all, bringing sunshine and then sunburn along with it. Later on, we pitched our tents and enjoyed a dance or two.

You can have a look at some more pictures from the weekend over on our Flickr page. 

Well, festival season is officially upon us. While some brave the muddy crowds of Glastonbury, others prefer a more intimate setting. That's where The Festival of the Nine Muses comes in; an arts festival that takes place in early July in the wooded parkland grounds of the beautiful Milton Manor in Oxfordshire. The festival, now in its second year, was founded by "Milton Manor's own Zeus" Anthony Mockler, to help raise money for the protection and upkeep of the historic building.

As its name suggests, the event is a celebration of Calliope (the Muse of Epic Poetry) and other Greek deities. Fittingly, you can expect the day to be full of music, poetry, theatre, drawing, dancing and stargazing - along with lazy picnics and cocktails in coracles. There will be workshops, talks and games throughout the day, and live music from a host of folksy favourites, including Johnny Flynn and Marques Toliver. The dress code is "Divinely Elegant (circa 300 BC)," so expect to see some well-worn togas.

Photo: Jonny Flynn performing at last year's festival.

We are probably most excited about The Festival of the Nine Muses because this year we'll be taking part by hosting ‘Tea With Oh Comely': a space to relax, chat, play some board games or browse through our magazine library. There will be plenty of tea and cakes on hand too - you'll probably need refreshments after that all-day Monopoly tournament.

The frivolities take place on Saturday the 9th of July. For tickets and a full programme, please visit the festival's website.

Photo: Theatre Borscht, the Russian vegetable theatre, performing last year.

If you're looking for a one-off gift for the friend who has everything, then you may just be in luck. Next week, the second year students of Central Saint Martins BA Graphic Design are holding their own Pop Up Shop at CAMP in London. The shop promises to be full of limited edition, bespoke and handmade items, all conceptualised and designed by the students to the highest quality. There'll be all sorts of lovely pieces available, from quirky clocks and jewellery, to hand-bound books and illustrated prints. All proceeds from the sale of their items goes towards funding their degree show. True to form, even the flyer for the shop (below) is a pretty neat typographic blackboard drawing.

The shop is part of the OFFSIGHT print exhibition, also hosted by Central Saint Martins students, which will showcase print and bookbinding work as a response to those workshops being moved away from the new Kings Cross campus that the college will be relocating to in the new year. The exhibition, also at CAMP, runs June 8th - 21st.

The Pop Up Shop will be open for business for three days, from Wednesday 8th to Friday 10th, noon ‘til 7pm each day at CAMP (70 – 74 City Rd, London). There's a private view on Wednesday night from 6:30pm ‘til midnight, so go snap up something cool before it's gone!You can find more information and updates on work in progress at their site here: http://csmpopup.tumblr.com/

Today sees the start of this year's Short Circuit, an annual festival of electronica that's being staged at the Roundhouse in London. From tomorrow, the festival teams up with excellent British record label Mute for two days of "performances and unique collaborations from Mute artists past, present and future alongside talks, workshops, screenings and installations."

Among the varied programme, you can expect to see live sets from Liars, Josh T. Pearson, Beth Jeans Houghton, a collaboration between Maps and Polly Scattergood, and DJ sets from Moby and Depeche Mode co-founder Andy "Fletch" Fletcher.

Thanks to Mute, we have a couple of goodies to give away to get you in the mood. These snappy enamel badges are part of a range of exclusive Short Circuit merchandise available at the festival, and one lucky music (or badge) fan has the chance to win them by writing in to [email protected] and telling us what their favourite electronic instrument is. We're quite partial to the theremin - it makes everything feel like being trapped in a haunted amusement park in the 1980s. Competition closes May 19th.

Visit the festival's website for the full Short Circuit line-up and further details. Tickets are available online from www.roundhouse.org.uk/short-circuit

Die hard, zine-making fans unite! The first ever fanzine convention is being held at the Victoria Baths in Manchester on 14th May. 

Apply for your stall and find out more over here.

Everyone loves a good market, and there's a new one in the making at the Islington Mill, an art and studio space in Salford.

Called The Sunday Market, it will be held every weekend from 24th April and is open to anyone who makes their own products, objects, art, zines, clothing, jewellery or even furniture.

You can also trade if you're selling vintage wares or just about anything that isn't found on the high street. Sounds excellent to me.  

We had a small party for friends and contributors to celebrate issue five in Tatty Devine's lovely shop in Brick Lane. Next issue will be our one year anniversary, though, so we're planning something big and you're all invited. We'll keep you posted. There are more photos of the issue five party on our Flickr.

The club night Radio Gagarin has been going for a couple of years now. It's organised by Max Reinhardt of BBC Radio 3 fame, and has been described as a mini-festival with bands and artists collaborating to bring something Russian to London.

To quote Radio Gagarin's official mission statement, it's a night, "fuller than an oligarch's bulging current account with a tundra melting mix of live music, digital DJ prowess, performance art, east European cinema, poetry, puppetry, poverty, posterity, suppositories, sailors, mutineers, rainy day women, heart throbs, natural gas, latkes, blinis and vodka." 

The next Radio Gagarin is this Thursday at the Bethnal Green Working Mens Club. It's being held to celebrate 50 years since the cosonaught Yuri Gagarin's first space flight. A musical highlight is sure to be the outrageous Shetel Superstars.

I'm super excited about It's Your Write, which takes place tomorrow night at The Museum of Childhood and is organised by the Papered Parlour. It's set to be a great evening of discussion and activity to celebrate our freedom of speech.

The Young and Lost Club have the night's music sorted, with performances from Planet Earth and Hot Feet. The ins and outs of self-publishing are covered by The Alternative Press, who are guiding us through how to make a zine. And I'm particularly keen to catch The Women's Library, who have a display of zines from their archive collection.

Oh, and if you want to write home about all the fun, you can. The Letter Lounge will have free stamps and letter writing paper available. Things kick off at 6 p.m. See you there!

The first Designers / Markers market of the year is happening tomorrow in east London. It's a great weekly fair, full of interesting artists, illustrators and crafters to discover.

If you can't make it, find more about the diverse and very talented group of artists that Designers / Makers represent on their website.

Fans of film, music and cute animals are in for a treat this Sunday night. Californian 'noise pop' duo No Age will be doing a one-off performance of their score to Jean-Jacques Annaud's 1988 nature film The Bear, live at The Institute of Contemporary Arts in London.

The film is an acclaimed documentary following an orphan bear on his journey of survival. No Age will be providing a soundtrack of "weirded sonics and bombastic rhythmic passages" that promises to be a gripping auditory counterpart.

We caught up with the band's Dean Spunt to ask about their musical relationship with the film.

What can the audience expect from your show?

It's minimal in parts and overtaking in others, trying to add colour to an already beautiful film. It's a good exercise for us to perform a piece that long, since we are used to playing no more than an hour.

You've done similar performances in Los Angeles and New York - how were they received?

They went well. The first time we did it was in Seattle and it was very emotional for some people, there were some teary eyes for sure. All the screenings have been pretty remarkable on our end, I would say.

Why did you choose The Bear to create a score for? Does it have a certain significance for you?

It was a film Randy loved as a kid. I had never seen it, but once I watched it, it just made sense for us to try and add to it. It is very simple, directed well and allows for a reinterpretation of sound.

Are there any other movies you'd like to compose a soundtrack for?

Since doing The Bear, I've been able to view movies in a different light. We did the music for a short film and another short piece for Rodarte - with them it is easy because their clothes are so personal and quiet, that we are able to come up with sound that matches really easy.

A film's soundtrack can curate the tone of the footage; sometimes it can create or change the mood altogether. What do you think your music has changed about the film?

I think it makes it more surreal and adds to the beautiful shots in the film. Since we took out most of the talking, and in some parts reversed and affected the original audio, it really changes the mood. It almost changes the outcome - it affects the film so much that it almost becomes a different piece.

What's special about doing a live performance of the score rather than having it pre-recorded and tacked on to the footage?

That way we get to feel the film live, and add or take away as we see fit according to the mood of the venue, the audience and us. Recorded would be fine, but this is a way to make it personal. It allows us to make each performance unique.

Your score has only been heard in one-off, live shows - is there any possibility that you'll record and release it?

Not sure. We actually haven't recorded any of the sets. We tried the first time but we ran out of space on our recorder. It would bring up other issues of attaining rights to the film, etc. It would be interesting though.

Are there any important life lessons that we can all learn from The Bear?

The film itself has a great tone. The animals in the film are amazing. The way they move, the shots make them look really human sometimes. The ending - I don't want to spoil it, but has an important lesson we should all learn.

No Age present The Bear this Sunday at 7pm, in association with the ever-good Upset The Rhythm. Tickets available from the ICA website.

Along with cups of tea, grey t-shirts and films starring Bill Nighy, I never turn down a jumble sale. So when the crafty folk at The Aviary let on that they had a stall at the New Gallery Jumble, I didn't need telling twice and made a visit.

The vintage, illustration, craft and bric-a-brac fair is held on the third Saturday of every month and it was a perfect way to spend a sunny afternoon in Peckham. After all, what beats wandering around a jumble sale to the sound of vinyl? New Gallery Jumble also aims to be 100% eco-friendly, so the whole day's fun is kind on your conscience.

Their next sale is on April 16th. Find more information on their Facebook page.