Featured event

A Jacobite sword, a hoard of Romans coins and the Beltane Queen's throne; all surrounded by the extraordinary plasterwork frieze installed in 1859.

In the Chambers Room.  Further information including contact details and opening times can be found on the Tweeddale Museum and Gallery pages.

Using archive photographs to tell the story of 1963 when Jim Clark swept to his first Formula 1 World Championship and launched himself to stardom in America by coming second in the Indianapolis 500.

Further information including contact details and opening times can be found on The Jim Clark Room pages.

Every year in May adult learning is promoted and celebrated in Scotland and across the globe. Free events are held across the Borders and this is your ideal time to find out more about what adult learning can do for you.

Events

If you are thinking of taking up learning and want to find out how to begin come along to one of the Adult Learners Week events near you:

• Tuesday 21 May: find out how to work your iPad, iPhone or iPod. Galashiels Focus Community Centre, 10am-4pm. Drop in any time call 01896 752636 for more details. 
• Wednesday 22 May: open afternoon for parents to find out about learning opportunities. Philiphaugh Community School, Selkirk, 1.30-3pm. Call 01750 20684 for more details.
• Wednesday 22 May: open day to find out what's going on in your library and your community. Galashiels Library  10am - 5pm. Call 01750 726400 for more details.
• Thursday 22 May: social drop in "old fashioned" games and refreshments.  Peebles Community Centre 2-4pm. Call 01721 720975 for more details.

Come along to the library and:

• Check out the Adult Learning resources
• Chat to Becca Childs, Adult Learning worker
• Explore family history - find out how to trace your ancestors using Ancestry.com
• Get tips on recycling
• Attend a 'My World of Work' taster session
• Bring your child to a Bookbug Session (rhymes, songs and stories for babies and toddlers)

and lots more...

For more information, including event timings, please contact Galashiels Library.

A rotating display of paintings from Hawick Museum's collection.

On the Balcony, 1st floor. Further information including contact details and opening times can be found on the Hawick Museum pages.

Works of art by controversial New York Photographer Robert Mapplethorpe.

The exhibition will range over his entire oeuvre including:

• nudes
• portraits
• self-portraits
• floral still life.

Mapplethorpe's choices were both innovative and bold. His cutting-edge use of natural light and his challenging themes have become embedded in our culture, with pervasive echoes not only in the work of other artists but in mainstream advertising and rock music imagery.

Details of the exhibition

Here you will find the famous and the infamous, including some of his best known portraits. There are 25 black and white portraits of well know stars such as:

• Andy Warhol
• Arnold Schwarzenegger
• Patti Smith
• Famous self portraits of Robert Mapplethorpe. 
  

Further information

The exhibition is in the Christopher Boyd Gallery.

• For more information on workshops or to request activity packs for schools phone 01750 20096.
• Further information including contact details and opening times can be found on the Old Gala House pages.

• An easy/moderate circular 2mile/3km walk along the Tweed looking at the variety of birdlife and other wildlife inhabiting this haugh. Birds to look out for include osprey, yellow wagtail and ringed plover.
• Under 13s must be accompanied by an adult.
• Meet at the car park towards the eastern end of Birgham Village.

Ranger Service contact details

Bookbug

Working with NHS Borders and Early Years our Libraries help encourage a lifelong love of books and reading through Bookbug, the Early Years Literacy Programme.   

Come along to Kelso Library Contact Centre and celebrate Bookbug Week 2013, Bookbug's Big Adventure.

A free, fun, and friendly event for babies and toddlers with adventure-themed songs and rhymes.

Please contact Kelso Library Contact Centre for more information.

Bookbug

Working with NHS Borders and Early Years our Libraries help encourage a lifelong love of books and reading through Bookbug, the Early Years Literacy Programme.   

Come along to Duns Parish Church and celebrate Bookbug Week 2013, Bookbug's Big Adventure.

A free, fun, and friendly event for babies and toddlers with adventure-themed songs and rhymes.

Please call 01361 883772 for more information.

Freestyle wallhangings woven with hand-dyed wools and fleece.  Seasonally inspired by the landscapes of Snowdonia and the Scottish Borders.

On the ground floor further information including contact details and opening times can be found on the Borders Textile Towerhouse pages.

A seletion of the best outfits created by this year's pupils from Hawick High School's award-winning Creative Fashion Course.

In the Futures Gallery.  Further information including contact details and opening times can be found on the Borders Textile Towerhouse pages.

As a student in the 1960's, his tutor suggested he should work with the colour he most disliked. His idea was that he should rid himself of any prejudice or preconceptions and learn to appreciate the potential of every colour. The colour he disliked most was 'pink'. This show amply demonstrates that he took his tutor's advice to great effect.

Further information

In the Museum Room.  Further information including contact details and opening times can be found on the Tweeddale Museum and Gallery pages.

This book and other Mauchine Ware souvenirs recalling the battle and other Border themes will be on display in the museum.

Further information including contact details and opening times can be found on the Coldstream Museum pages.

A short surbey over a 1 mile route. No experience necessary.

Under-16s must be with an adult. No dogs. 

Max. of 10 participants. Booking: Advised.

Part of Scottish Borders, Naturally. 18 May-16 June. 

Landscapes of the Borders alongside those of Easter Ross, with the dramatic seascapes of the Black Isle and Cromarty Firth. Depicting the contrasting colurs and moods of these two vibrant areas of Scotland and retaining the spirit of place of each.

In the Waterfall Gallery, 1st floor.  Further information including contact details and opening times can be found on the Hawick Museum pages.

Discover handcrafts, woodwork and more.

Fashion items on display include Karl Lagerfeld for CHANEL as well as the Autumn/Winter 2013 preview garments and company histories from local producers:

• Barrie Knitwear
• Hawick Cashmere
• Hawick Knitwear
• House of Cheviot
• Johnstons of Elgin
• Lovat
• Scott & Charters
• William Lockie

Further information

The exhibition is on the catwalk on 2nd floor. Contact details and opening times can be found on the Borders Textile Towerhouse pages.

Pupils trace her connections to Jedburgh and the events that led up to her dramatic death.

Further information including contact details and opening times can be found on the Mary, Queen of Scots' Visitor Centre pages.

Howdenburn Primary School children have created a gruesome display that reflects on early human dissection by focusing on Robert Knox (1826-1840) and his diminishing supply of fresh bodies - Scottish prisons favouring reform over execution caused a shortage in the legal supply.

In the Bob Mason Room. Further information including contact details and opening times can be found on the Jedburgh Castle Jail and Museum pages.

The Old Gala Club take us from four legs to two wheels to four wheels; through horse-drawn to steam-powered and motorised.

A vivid history of transport in and around Galashiels, evoked through period photographs and memorabilia.

In the Museum Room. Further information including contact details and opening times can be found on the Old Gala House pages.

We would like to know your opinions on whether you think we have understood what services are important to older people and what services you would like to see, or use, in the future.

Central event

 22 May from 10am - 12pm presentation and discussions at Langlee Complex, Galashiels.

Booking is essential for the central event please call 01835 825080.

Drop-in Sessions

Drop-in Sessions will then be held across the Borders and are open to all who would like to ask more questions:

• 27 May - 2pm - 4pm WRVS Tea Room - Hawick Community Hospital
• 28 May - 1.30pm - 3.30pm WRVS Tea Room - Kelso Community Hospital
• 29 May - 2pm - 4pm WRVS Tea Room - Haylodge, Peebles
• 7 June - 10am - 12pm Room 1, Eyemouth Community Centre
• 12 June - 10am - 12pm The Health Education Room, Knoll Hosptal, Duns.
  

As the first Artist in Residence at Borders Book Festival in 2012, Glasgow-based visual artist Janie Nicoll gets 'right to the heart' of this vibrant festival.

This new body of work, based on her week spent at Harmony House, Melrose, uses text obtained from visitors and authors as a starting point.

Work created through a Visual Artist Residency in partnership with the Borders Book Festival and CABN (Creative Arts Business NetworK) and funded by Creative Scotland and LEADER.

Further information

In the Pringle Room. Further information including contact details and opening times can be found on the Old Gala House pages.

Robert Mapplethorpe was an American artist known for pushing the boundaries of photography both in his subject choice and technique.  He is almost exclusively remembered for his controversial and often explicit images taken throughout the 20th century.

Members of the group will hold informal gallery tours at times - contact the gallery for more details.

In the Museum Room.  Further information including contact details and opening times can be found on the Tweeddale Museum and Gallery pages.

For many centuries shoes have been designed to meet the range of human activities. They may be worn for work, sporting activities and special occasions or simply made as decorative art.

Further information including contact details and opening times can be found on the St Ronan's Wells Visitor Centre pages.

Fun, colourful and informative. Watch out for school and holiday activities to bring you close to the wonderful world of minibeasts.

On the ground floor. Further information including contact details and opening times can be found on the Hawick Museum pages.

Painting mainly in watercolour, with some pastels, she beautifully illustrates the natural world around her - from the stunning effects of light streaming through tress, to the colours of the foliage and mosses on the ground. Also on show are her highly collectable ceramic hens and owls.

In the Robson Gallery.  Further information including contact details and opening times can be found on the the Halliwell's House Museum pages.

Tim Stead (1952-2000) spent his early working years at Harestanes, on his way to becoming a respected and talented artist craftsman using native hardwoods.

The exhibition

• This is the final opportunity to see much of Tim Stead's wonderful work which includes furniture and sculpture available to purchase.
  
• Spanning two prolific decades, the exhibition includes keynote pieces highlighting Tim Stead's trademark use of burr elm.
  
• It includes the Papal Throne commissioned for the visit of Pope John Paul II to Edinburgh's Murrayfield Stadium in 1982, kindly loaned for the exhibition.
  
• To accompany the exhibition, Maggy Stead Lenert presents an illustrated talk 'Tim Stead: His Life and Work' on Sunday 21st April. Entry is £3 and booking is advised. To book either Contact Harestanes online or call 01835 830306.

Further information and booking

• Further information is available in our news story for the exhibition.
  
• Download the Harestanes 2013 events brochure for full details of the visitor centre's 21st anniversary programme. Details of opening times can be found on the Harestanes page.