Don't forget the Friends of the Museum talk on 21 July 7.30pm in the Museum, Tim Laurie, Peter Denison Edson and other members of the Swaledale and Arkengarthdale Archaeology Group will give the second Jill Curry Memorial Lecture, on ‘Recent Archaeological Discoveries in the Dale’. They have found exciting new evidence and have plans for new excavations. So do come and hear what they have to reveal!

On the 24 July we have our last Conversation in Craft with Ray Davies from the Garden House Pottery in Reeth. These informal and convivial evenings, which begin at 7.30, are a chance to find out more about our local crafts people. Contact us if you would like to come.

For all our knitters, the Knitting Cafe will meet at the Museum at 2pm on 23 August, and 27 September. Those who attended the Knitting Workshops in 2009 and 2010 might like to know that Nancy Bush is back and we are having a party for her on 5th August at 7.30 pm in the Museum. Bring a contribution to refreshments!

For our 11th AUGUST talk we have Dave Weedon, on ‘Pioneering Photographers of the Yorkshire Dales 1840s-1914’, including Swaledale. From 2.30 pm in the Museum he will be happy to take a look at the photographs (covering the period of his talk you might like to bring in to date and discuss. His talk begins at 7.30pm as usual in the Museum.

We also have a SPECIAL LECTURE by David Carlisle on Tuesday 17th August, which we will be holding at Fremington Sunday School at 7.30pm. The gripping title is: ‘A gruesome discovery’. In 1964 a decayed body of a man was discovered in a dales lead mine. How long had he been there, who could he be, and was there a Swaledale connection? Come and find out. Tickets booked in advance £3,on the door £4.

There is a second chance to hear Reuben Frankau’s ‘The Bus Up the Dale Part 2, The Rise and Fall of Percivals’. As we had to turn so many people away in May, we are repeating this talk on Wednesday 1 September, in the Museum at 7.30pm. Booking is advisable to secure a seat.

On September 11 Professor Geoff Coyle will be giving a lecture in the Museum at 7.30pm based on his recently published book ‘The Riches Beneath our Feet How Mining Shaped Britain’. You may have seen excellent reviews of it in the national press. We are not a little honoured that Oxford University Press should be sending him to us! Here is your oppportunity to meet him, hear him and get a signed copy of his book. You can book a seat by contacting Helen, £3 Friends, £4 visitors - all welcome.

The Museum is delighted to be working with ‘LIFE THROUGH THE LENS IN THE YORKSHIRE DALES’, a photographic team visiting Swaledale and Arkengarthdale 11-18 September. Roughly a dozen photographers of a wide variety of backgrounds and skills will live together in a small village in Arkengarthdale in order to develop a collective impression of one of England's most cherished landscapes: the Yorkshire Dales.

Working as a team, these image-makers will endeavor to “live exposed” by instigating a variety of photography-driven activities and events, exploring the region first-hand through image-making and working to tell stories about everything from its history to geology to culture. Along the way they will record and share pieces of their own experience as well as meet, discuss, and collaborate their efforts with the local community.

Dubbed Exposure: England, the culmination of the week will see selections of the photography shared locally, and afterwards far beyond. Partnership with the Swaledale Museum in Reeth has been established to further both the fieldwork and archival aspects of the project.

All photographers, regardless of age or experience, are encouraged to apply. Several scholarships will be made to applicants based on submission merit. For those who have a potential topic, story, or idea in the Yorkshire Dales that they would like the Exposure: England team to pursue, they are encouraged to get in touch by emailing england@livingexposed.com. More information about Living Exposed can be found at http://livingexposed.com. For more information about this topic, or to schedule an interview with Jesse, please call 07818 167687 or email jws@livingexposed.com

Come and see the Museum, stay in our cottage or take at a look at our shop. As usual if you have any information or enquiries contact Helen Bainbridge at the Museum on 01748 884118 or e-mail: museum.swaledale@btinternet.com, and don't forget to check our website www.swaledalemuseum.org.