"We were, and I believe still are, a separate nation with separate history, separate culture and sense of national identity."

Absolutely, and one of the big mistakes of the UK is to deny the fact the home nations are not homogenous. That said, the same is true of the regions of all the home nations to a lesser degree as well.

The thing is, Scotland, Wales and the North of Ireland have very strong cultural and national identities, with the majority of the English* occupying some hinterland of confusion about who they are. The culture and identity of the home nations are no longer under threat from a central government; their uniqueness is threatened by the homogeny of the corporate jackboot and the apathy of the populace that brings with it. Anyhow, the Scots are a feisty bunch and I don't fear for any long-term erosion of identity etc. I believe that Scotland is in no danger of ever finding its own culture under threat from anyone else on these islands.

However, our history is most certainly NOT separate, it's just that our actual history rarely fits in with any nationalist narrative, of any country. The threads of our culture, identity and history are and always have been intertwined in a most intimate and subtle way. We are genetically identical, and for most of our history as a people on these islands we have not had nations and borders, but were a multi-faceted collection of tribes that had more in common than they did apart. The imposing of borders was a disaster for us all in a sense, as it began the splitting of a creative and vibrant people along lines that suited the elite rather than us, the ordinary folk.

*I say "the majority of English" because I'm sure that as folk musicians we often have a far better handle on our respective cultures and identities than the general population. We sing the songs, tell the stories and keep the flame of our culture burning, albeit very quietly in the case of the English.