Here are three "Northern" female groups/performers/writers who keep me happy in long hours spent editing medical textbooks (when not listening to Late Junction on the web). First is a great rendition of a song I first heard on an XTC album. Second is a classic track of a traditional sung by June Tabor. And third is a Brenton Dance song by Talitha MacKenzie -- an American world music performer/writer who lives in my home town of Edinburgh. It never fails to get my feet tapping.