For a description of the annual Melrose Festival see Chapter 19 of The Borders Book.

Chapter 9 of The Borders Book (see the Bibliography section) contains a section concentrating on the social life and welfare in the area, including population numbers, pay and conditions, housing, health and education etc. See also the Statistics section below.

An article on "Border life 140 years ago" (circa 1800) appeared in the 1936 transactions of the Hawick Archaeological Society, pages 5-12. Written by James Edgar, it is largely based upon the Statistical Account of the 1790s.

The 1932 transactions of Hawick Archaeological Society contained an article on "Border rural life in the olden time", pages 13-16. Written by Walter Barrie, this concentrates on the first half of the century, going back to his childhood and also covering life for the previous generation.

For a glimpse of Roxburghshire life a very long time ago, see A. Campbell-Fraser's article "Glimpses of Teviotdale in the twelfth century from the Latin of Reginald of Durham" which appeared in the 1924 transactions of the Hawick Archaeological Society, on pages 24-28.

• Scottish Customs from the Cradle to the Grave by Margaret Bennett is full of information about life in Scotland, from childbirth through to death and burial. Polygon, 1992, ISBN 0 7486 6118 2.
• Two publications by The National Records of Scotland which look at aspects of social life in Scotland in the past are Hatches, Matches and Despatches (16 pages) and Feast to Festival (27 pages). The first of these looks at customs surrounding birth, marriage and death in Scotland. The second looks at entertainment, from the medieval times right through to the modern day.

• Village Games (archived copy) by Colonel Alex Johnson describes games which Alex remembers from his childhood in the 1920s and 30s. Although the names of the games are those used in North-East England, most of these games were played throughout the country.