Nigel Slater Christmas Chronicles Read Along 2023 - Part Two

[RainbowZebraWarrior]

Continuing from Part 1

For anyone who has not already had the pleasure, the annual Nigel Slater Christmas Chronicles read along is a real time annual MN tradition.

The book began on 1st November, however there is still time to fully appreciate Nigel in All His Splendour as it takes us to Christmas and beyond.

Most of us already have the book (or Audio book) For anyone who doesn't, it's a challenge to see of you can pick up a bargain. WH Smith has come up trumps in the past, as has ebay. A rare and precious charity shop find is the holy grail and adds a certain special-ness that simply extends that warm, fizzy Nigel feeling (and some well earned smugness)

I shall continue to make a post each day and we can share our thoughts and feelings on the days recipes, sentiments and indeed Dear Old Nige himself.

Pull up a chair and a cosy blanket and join in. Twinkly lights are optional, but candle light is definitely recommended. Regulars and newcomers are welcomed like old friends.

Ohhh @LaviniasBigBloomers Warsaw is lovely in the colder months! Have a wonderful time.

LaviniasBigBloomers - have a good trip to Warsaw, looking forward to hearing about it (some pics would be nice too!)

Caught up with Nigel this morning and felt inspired to make a malt loaf, which I love. Sadly Mr Beans has been remiss in not replacing the sultanas when doing the online shopping so I have had to make sticky ginger cake instead. The whole house smells of homemade bread, a hearty warming soup, and ginger. Who needs the fragrance of a christmas candle?!

@YuletideSolace your nisser are delightful. So lovely to hear from you. It's all too easy to become overwhelmed at this time of year. I'm getting a lot better at being kind to and pacing myself.

@LaviniasBigBloomers enjoy Warsaw!

So envious of the snow! Haven’t had a decent amount here in years (East Anglia).

Kids happy with their Dairy Milk advent calendars (NVN).

Can report that Bristol Christmas market is also NVN and really not worth travelling for!

Good to see you back @YuletideSolace - you were missed. Have a great time in Warsaw @LaviniasBigBloomers - we are off to Berlin at the weekend (delighted to see we've managed to coincide with more German Christmas markets from Nigel - I shall read ahead). Lovely to see so many of you have snow - hopefully CC is helping everyone feel the joy rather than curse the inconvenience. DD was delighted to see her Advent calendar this morning - the first year there has only been one, with DS away until the 23rd (not even worth partially filling it for one day!)

I can't make up my mind whether my advent calendars are QN or NVNAA (Not Very Nigel At All). On the plus side, I made them myself; on the negative (nigelly-speaking), they are stuffed with chocolates...

Very cold and crisp here in north London, with a wee snow flurry earlier. My mum has had snow up in Wylam in Northumberland.

Wishing all of those travelling a lovely time!

Very pretty barkcloth 😀

Happy 1st December all.

i love your nisser @YuletideSolace. Sorry you have been feeling overwhelmed. It’s very easy to feel like that especially at this time of year. I find just doing a big brain dump list helps me feeling slightly more in control.

@DingDongMerrilyWithPie - DS failed to bring me any chocolate Kimberly. Bah!

Very NVN Advent Calendars on the go here. Jam and a Christmas jigsaw one for me, a whiskey one for DH and a chocolate one for DS who is not really interested but I got it anyway.

Dinner NVN either as it’s fajitas.

It felt very Christmassy this morning as it was so frosty although we don’t have snow.

Has anyone seen the book These Delicious Things? It was only launched a few weeks ago, but it sounds rather up our collective street, I reckon. It is a collection of nostalgic food recipes and memories from over 100 of the UKs top chefs. I see that Nigella is named, but I'm not sure if Nigel has contributed. I think I might see if the library has a copy, or if they can order it in for me. I feel it could be a good read once CC are finished.

Good to see you back @YuletideSolace and hope you are doing well. @RainbowZebraWarrior That book looks really interesting and I think it would make a great Christmas present for someone I know who doesn’t need another cook book but is very interested in food and cooking.
@Barkcloth I think Nigel would secretly love a homemade advent calendar stuffed with Lindors.

Well he should have brought Chocolate Kimberly for you but at least he didn't foist Mikado on you!

I studied there in the late 80s and met DH there ❤️

I just popped over from the 50 Books thread to say that if anyone's interested, The Christmas Chronicles is in the Kindle Deals for today at a bargain-tastic 99p. It’s a time-limited deal so I’m not sure how long it'll be available.

Just in case anyone wants a back-up Kindle copy!

Christmas chronicles is available for 99p on kindle! Limited time offer

Thank you - I've bought the Kindle version just now 🎄

Thank you so much! Now I have it on Kindle Nigel can come with me to Berlin.

2 December

To Nuremberg and the Christkindlesmarkt

Slowly we dawdle, scarfed and toasty-hatted, into the market square. The lights illuminating the stalls are switched off. Families cluster around the two fir trees standing guard at the church, but others attempt nonchalance, pretending they are not determinedly securing the perfect vantage-point for their clicking Canons. This time, the prefect spot is actually taken by a police surveillance van. I find an excellent viewpoint outside the communal entrance of a block of flats.

Morning all. Gosh, it is bitter! (Nigel would probably say "Yes, invigorating isn't it?")

I was supposed to go out delivering honey this morning. I am not so sure it's a great idea when it's minus 5 and the streets are thick with ice and yesterday's compacted snow. Precious liquid in glass jars seems to be asking for trouble in these conditions. I shall reevaluate later this morning

Morning all. Hope those away are having a nigetastic time.

any of you further north managing to see the aurora? It’s particularly active this winter and there was a major solar storm yesterday.

I have a Christmas wreath and candle holder workshop all day today with friends 😁

Morning all, I am in bed with a cup of tea, my electric blanket on and a cat on my lap. I have got a Pukka tea advent calendar as I always start my day with herbal tea. Hopefully Nigel would approve. It is very cold out there, we had flurries of snowflakes on Thurs (Surrey) but none settled. They were proper tiny hexagonal snowflakes, so pretty.

Going back to the stollen chat, I have never made one but would like to try, I make sourdough bread (and cinnamon buns every Christmas Eve) so am used to long processes but my calendar is rammed this year and have effectively lost a week of Christmas prep with DF being in hospital (hopefully going home today).

I have done a LOT of driving this week (I reckon 600 miles), mostly with DD, who has been visiting DF with me in the evenings but on Thurs I had an hour in the car on my own so caught up with Nigel on audio then managed to listen yesterday as well, up to date now. I do find I keep overshooting with the audio, it is such relaxing listening.

Got another 100 mile round trip today on my own so going to stick on my Christmas playlist. I am already out of Whamageddon thanks to a sopping trip yesterday. I wonder if Nigel plays? I suspect not. I think he might like the Jethro Tull Christmas album though.

@Bimblesalong Nigetastic! I love that.

@EversoDisorganised I'm on the NE coast and have seen the Aurora before at St Mary's Lighthouse, Whitley Bay. If it's safe enough, I may pop down there for a watch tonight. I'll check what folk are saying online. I was out of Whamaggedon in October. DD got Now that's what I call Christmas CD and started playing it in the car at Halloween. The first song is Last Christmas!

Oh, thank goodness I've finally found the new thread! I have a week's annual leave and am planning on all sorts of delightful festivities, plus painting the bathroom. Today I will be catching up on housework, making a burnt aubergine chilli, mist coating the ceiling and going to a Byrd concert.

Just read that you checked on me earlier in the thread,@RainbowZebraWarrior. Thank you!

Thanks also to everyone who's wished me well in the last few comments since I posted - much appreciated.

It's not Christmas pressures getting me down (thankfully I'm very good at throwing off the martyr cloak and have never been a fan of frenetic seasonal aspirations), just a combination of various factors making me prone to burnout.

Getting things done in the house over the next few days will help immensely, and also getting a (mildly) difficult conversation out of the way which I've been putting off.

There are so many lovely things to comment on, but I'm not sure I have the energy to read back again right now.

Mostly just want to say thank you to everyone for creating such a lovely space here. 🎄🎄🎄

Sending hugs, @YuletideSolace Yes, you were on my mind. I'm prone to burnout myself as I'm Autistic. The last couple of days I've felt like I'm in sensory overload, so that's usually a warning for me. I'm going to take it easy this weekend, as next week is a nightmare for me with hospital appointments and the dreaded PIP assessment.

I've just heard the Toot of the steam train from the local steam museum down the road, so I'm guessing some folk are off on a very wintery santa train adventure. We used to do it years ago and they employed a load of local folky / steampunk actors and musicians. The Santa and elves were amazing. Santa had a staff covered in ivy and trinkets. The elves would read old Nordic (quite dark) fairy tales to the kids. There was also a cracking accordion player and fiddler who would play at the window of your compartment. It always reminded me of a Hugh Fearnly-Whittingstall kind of affair. I think they've sold out now to a more commercialised look, judging by their website.

Oh I forgot to mention, I may have had a lovely little exchange with the man himself on his instagram, sometime in the not-too-distant past!