The Nordic countries have a veritable smörgåsbord of relationships with the European Union, from in to out to somewhere in between. So, what does that mean for Scotland? Well, somewhere in this incredible diversity of relationships with Europe is an arrangement that’s likely to be good for Scotland too – strangely enough, maybe more than one. Inside or outside the UK, Scotland wants to keep trade and cultural links with Europe – that much is clear. But is the EU really the best club in town for an independent Scotland? Or would Scots benefit from ‘doing a Norway’ – joining the halfway house of the EEA and keeping the Single Market but losing the troublesome Common Fisheries and Agriculture Policies? Would an independent Scotland need the support and shelter of another union – or could the nation stand alone like the tiny Faroes or Iceland? These tough questions have already been faced and resolved by five Nordic nations and their autonomous territories within the last 40 years. Perhaps there’s something for Scotland to learn? The unique combination of personal experience and experts’ insights give this book its hands-on character: pragmatic and thought-provoking, challenging and instructive, full of amazing stories and useful comparisons, enriching the debates about Scotland’s post-Brexit future as a Nordic neighbour. Scotland’s response to Britain’s divided Brexit vote has been positively Nordic – Scots expect diversity and empowerment to be entirely possible – whilst Westminster’s reaction has been decidedly British. One singer – one song. One deal for everyone – end of. Lesley Riddoch Of course, the majority of Nordic nations are eu members. But perhaps the eea is a closer fit for Scotland? Perhaps, too, a viable halfway house option would boost support for Scottish independence? Especially since Holyrood may not automatically retrieve powers from Europe post Brexit. Paddy Bort

Cultural Crofter is a very apt description for Nancy Nicolson - she is a Sottish folk singer and a tradition bearer, a songwriter and a storyteller and a melodeon player. Brought up on a croft in Caithness, the former Edinburgh teacher has worked with the BBC, Celtic Connections, and the New Makars Trust. It was high time that her songs were collected and published, and Grace Note Publications has done just that, to coincide with her 75th birthday in 2016. They sent a Wumman: The Collected Songs of Nancy Nicolson contains an autobiographical piece by Nancy herself, as well as contributions by her fellow-Caithnessian writer George Gunn, by singer, songwriter, actor and director Gerda Stevenson and the folk singer, songwriter and publisher Ewan McVicar. But the focus is, as editor Paddy Bort writes in his introduction, firmly on the songs, in all their glorious diversity. Like few others, Nancy Nicolson has the gift - as writer, singer and storyteller - to communicate the life and culture of Scotland, with rare warmth and energy and her very own brand of wit and wisdom. As can be seen in this volume, Nancy Nicolson covers (nearly) every subject under the sun - from bootleg whisky to the Miners' Strike, from bairns' play to the grim and cruel games of war, and from 'hauf-hinget' Maggie to 'Maggie's Pit Ponies'. Some of her songs have assumed almost 'traditional' status by now - among them Nancy's greatest hits: "Listen tae the Teacher', 'The Moon in the Morning', 'The Brickie's Ballad' and, of course, 'They Sent a Wumman'. Among others, Gerda Stevenson, The McCalmans and Ed Miller have recorded her songs.

"Anent Hamish Henderson - Essays, Poems, Interviews" brings together more than twenty contributions ranging from fond memory to critical inquiry anent the late Hamish Henderson, Scotland's leading folklorist of the twentieth century, remarkable poet and songwriter, and political activist. Contributors: Keith Armstrong, Margaret Bennett, Eberhard 'Paddy' Bort, Ray Burnett, David Daiches, Lesley Duncan, Archie Fisher, Howard Glasser, George Gunn, William Hershaw, Tom Hubbard, John Lucas, Richie McCaffery, Geordie McIntyre, Dolina Maclennan, Allan McMillan, Alison McMorland, Ewan McVicar, Andrew Means, Donald Meek, Jan Miller, Timothy Neat, Colin Nicholson, Mario Relich, Jennie Renton, Donald Smith and Sheena Wellington.

"At Hame Wi' Freedom" marks the tenth anniversary of Hamish Henderson's death in 2002. It is the third book of a loose trilogy: "Borne on the Carrying Stream" (Grace Note Publications, 2010), followed by '"Tis Sixty Years Since" (Grace Note Publications, 2011) - all revolving around the life and legacy of Hamish Henderson and the Scottish Folk Revival he did so much to inspire and sustain.

At Hame wi' Freedom focuses on Hamish Henderson's involvement in the revival, his association with Perthshire and the North-East, the emergence of his poetic voice, and his political activism.

It also features Pino Mereu's poetic evocation of the Anzio (Beachhead) Pipe Band and the 2011 Hamish Henderson Memorial Lecture by Owen Dudley Edwards. Further contributions are from Eberhard Bort, Maurice Fleming, Fred Freeman, George Gunn, Tom Hubbard, Alison McMorland, Ewan McVicar, Hayden Murphy and Belle Stewart.

Praise for At Hame Wi' Freedom

HAMISH Henderson, poet, folklorist and genial patriarch of the Scottish folk revival, and Pink Floyd, iconoclasts of English psychedelia, might seem to offer little in common.

Yet in "At Hame Wi' Freedom," the third of a trilogy of essay collections celebrating Henderson's work, Pino Mereu's poem sequence Anzio Pipe Band is dedicated not only to Henderson's memory, but to that of Eric Waters, father of Pink Floyd founder member Roger Waters. Waters Snr, like Mereu's father, died during the Battle of Anzio in 1944.

At Anzio, Henderson formed a morale-boosting pipe band which entered Rome with the triumphant Allied forces. Mereu's poem in Italian, influenced by Henderson's Elegies For "The Dead In Cyrenaica" as well as by Pink Floyd's Final Cut, is accompanied by a Scots translation from Tom Hubbard.

Such unlikely connections come as no surprise in a book, edited by Eberhard Bort, containing some wonderfully circuitous discourses. None more so than Owen Dudley Edwards's lecture, ostensibly titled "Sectarian Songs," which before getting to grips with "The Ould Orange Flute," recounts how Henderson persuaded the future PM Gordon Brown of the importance of Antonio Gramsci, the Italian revolutionary writer.

Ten years on from Henderson's death, these essays reflect the sometimes bewildering variousness of the man, remembered with affection by poet Hayden Murphy, while accordionist Jim Bainbridge recalls a never-to-be forgotten visit to an early Blairgowrie festival. Alison McMorland's essay on the Fetterangus Stewarts taps into Henderson's championing of the Travellers as tradition-bearers, while George Gunn and Fred Freeman deal with his fluidity of language and the place of poets in general.

Maurice Fleming, born in the same road in Blairgowrie as Henderson, gives an insightful picture of the Perthshire which shaped the man and where, on the slopes of Ben Gulabin, overlooking his Glenshee birthplace, his ashes were scattered. Jim Gilchrist, "The Scotsman" >

This publication commemorates the 1951 Edinburgh People's Festival Ceilidh and collects views and perspectives on the way the Folk Revival has evolved over the past sixty years. 'Tis Sixty Years Since: The 1951 Edinburgh People's Festival Ceilidh and the Scottish Folk Revival -Sixty years ago, in 1951, the first Edinburgh People's Festival Ceilidh at Oddfellows' Hall kick-started the modern Scottish Folk Revival. It was presided over by Hamish Henderson and recorded by Alan Lomax. Sixty years ago, the School of Scottish Studies was founded at the University of Edinburgh. The 10th Carrying Stream Festival in November 2011, organised by Edinburgh Folk Club in cooperation with the School of Scottish Studies and the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland, celebrated these anniversaries.

BORNE ON THE CARRYING STREAM -THE LEGACY OF HAMISH HENDERSON HAMISH HENDERSON poet, soldier, scholar, folklorist, song-maker and political activist Eighteen essays engaging with aspects of Hamish Henderson's remarkable contribution to contemporary Scottish culture-- from song-writing and song-collecting to poetry and politics. Contributors: Margaret Bennett, Eberhard Bort, Steve Byrne, Corey Gibson, Rob Gibson, George Gunn, Joy Hendry, Tom Hubbard, Geordie McIntyre, Brian McNeill, Ewan McVicar, Pino Mereu, Timothy Neat, Tessa Ransford, Mario Relich, Donald Smith, Sheila Stewart, Gary West. Edinburgh Folk Club's annual Carrying Stream Festival celebrates the life and legacy of Hamish Henderson. A selection of the Festival's Hamish Henderson Lectures, together with the other contributions, paint a fascinating picture of this multi-facett ed Scot--the 'father of the Scott ish Folk Revival'. (www.carryingstreamfestival.co.uk)