Since Calum sent me it yesterday I’ve been checking the final version of our Hume album, which is still great fun to listen to even now - a good sign. It’s had an ‘on in the background on a hifi system while I work’ listen, an ‘in-ear headphones while walking down the street’ listen, and it now awaits its final ‘critical listening on grownup headphones’ before I sign it off. I’ll post another track on soundcloud before New Year.

On Tuesday night Alasdair, Neil and I will be conferring over the edit of the ballad piano parts we recorded a few weeks ago. Last night we were all at the launch of the Janey Buchan Political Song Collection CD, where Kim Moore did something amazing and unexpected with a Bert Jansch song, a viola, an electric guitar and a loop pedal.

My intake of bakery goods is on the increase again now that Cottonrake have reopened. They haven’t put their own signage up yet, so I’m sure some people think that the shop is named after the neon that David Shrigley gave them as an opening present.

Karen McAulay and I have discovered the joys of the Atholl Collection at the A K Bell Library in Perth: an astoundingly good collection of 18th/19th-century Scottish music with multiple first editions of Neil Gow books, lots of unexpected treasures, encouraging and helpful staff, and a café with home baking downstairs. Thanks to the newly-arrived Nicola Cowmeadow and her brilliant team – we could happily have spent weeks just exploring the bounty on the shelves.

twin copies of Baillie’s very rare Airs for the Flute (Edinburgh, 1735)

William Dixon’s famous MS of pipe tunes, saved from the fire in 1909

Congratulations to Olivia for signing to Nonesuch – wahey! At the 2014 Radio 2 Folk Awards she’s up for the Horizon Award and Best Original Song for Swimming in the Longest River … yes, the very one that’s on our album Revenge of the Folksingers.