The Autumnal Christmas Chronicles Preamble thread

[RainbowZebraWarrior]

Hi, and welcome to the Nigel Slater appreciation society Christmas Chronicles Premable thread.

The thread will start proper in late October where we begin our annual journey of reading the Christmas Chronicles in real time. It is a cosy, heartwarming event that one can dip in and out of as life allows. Think flickering candles, woodsmoke, delicious recipes, the odd home made tipple, and bucket loads of touching Nigel-esque anecdotes. It is a veritable Hyyge of a thread.

This thread is to see us through until that time. You will find me, like a squirell, checking on my store of candles at the back of the cupboard.

It's also worth noting that Nigel's new book; A Thousand Feasts is out on 26th September. (with a deliciously Autumnal cover)

Ooh it's grey here in Yorkshire as well this morning. It was lashing it down with rain yesterday and I got drenched watching my Ds play football! We had a steak pie for lunch which was yummy and interestingly my DD asked to watch Gilmore Girls from the beginning again.
Candle wise I had a sea salt one from Tescos going all day but it didn't have a lot of scent. When I get chance I'm going to have a go at making some!
I'm off to the allotment in a moment to check on my Brussels for Christmas lunch.

It's very autumn here now, beautiful crisp weather and yellow birch trees. There is a low lying wild plant here that turns bright red which is beautiful in Autumn.

I would very much like to brag about my kantarell mushrooms. We cooked some on the firepit over the weekend and they were absolutely delicious. I have 5 more boxes cleaned and ready that we found last weekend in the forest.
This week we will be trying a new recipe I found for Jegergryte, game stew. I have some moose and reindeer meat for it and will add some tyttebær that we also found in the forest.
I'm very happy it's this time of year!

@Taytocrisps yes we often have snow during December (although we haven’t had a white Christmas for a while) so I’ll be happy to share photos.

When I first read this I thought you had your knitting and nice wine in the car!
😄😄

@IngenTing your chanterelles are very handsome! Your Hunter's stew sounds delicious.

I often knit on a long journey if I’ve a straightforward pattern - wine as a passenger is a whole other level of indulgence suggestion. I usually help with navigating so maybe not the best thing 🤣

we are at the very tip of Cornwall. It is blowy and invigorating. Rumours of sunshine abound today.

In my younger days, when sexual harassment was a standard party of public transport, I used to always knit on trains because it seemed to deter creepy men. I'm not sure whether it was because the needles could be used as a weapon or because knitting magically turned me unfuckable. Either way, it was great because I got left in peace AND got new knitwear!

Loving the international reflections on autumn on this thread 🍂 ❤️

As well as unexpected benefits of knitting in public places!

It's actually sunny today in Wales after a long stretch of wet weather. Beautiful autumn sunshine.

I have been browsing the local shops and happened upon the largest selection of st eval - had a lovely time sniffing them- so many new favourites. The shop owner told me the advent calendars sold out quickly last year.

Hmm. I got a sea salt St Eval for a birthday present, but didn't really think it smelled very strong at all, could barely smell it in fact.

But you all love them. So shall I give the advent calendar a go?

(Not very Nigel but I had a yankee candle one a few years ago and they all smelled great. Guessing the St Eval is more Nige!)

I've got an Inspiritus one (first one I ever bought after mentions on here) and it smells 'nice' is all I'd say. I am absolutely not going to pay nearly £2 per tealight for the advent (I think that's what it works out as. I know you also get a tealight holder, but as I said yesterday, they were trying to sell them off for a couple of quid in the Spring sale) so it's a no from me.

I love Neom, and have also treated myself to a Diptyque Biscuit (Divine!) a couple of months ago which I'm keeping for Dec. I also make my own from a combination of beeswax, soy and essential oils. I love making up new blends depending on my mood / the season.

Just coming in to say I've been lurking these threads for a long time and they're a wonderful read. I've not joined for a number of reasons, not least that my life and budget is sadly very unNigelesque, but a lot of what I appreciate isn't, and previous threads have given me good ideas.
(I'm vegetarian, creative, and what I can't afford I generally create alternatives to.)

I hope it is Ok to pop in sporadically? (I've name changed for a slower pace and to detach from the more chaotic parts of my life.)

It's more grey, thundery, and wet here, than anything else, but lots of autumn harvesting and cooking is happening, mainly preserving - currently rosemary, sage, mint, apples, plums and blackberries. Garden is currently an overgrown mess buried beneath a canopy of hops! (not at all Nigel and not sure what he

The last of the big bumble bees and mining bees are still turning up for white and purple laburnum flowers that I've been cutting back to keep them flowering late for them, and I still have little honey bees happy for lemonbalm, and chocolate mint flowers.

I'm not sure anyone but Nigel has Nigel's budget @EphemeraleEudemonia! I would argue you don't actually have to spend anything to enjoy the read along. The essence of Nigel for me in the weeks leading up to and just after Christmas is about embracing the cold, dark days, thinking about how this is celebrated and embraced in the UK and farther afield, enjoying wrapping up to go out in the cold and then being cosy inside. For all his extravagance, Nigel is actually a very minimal person - you only have to look at photos of the interiors of his house - if anything he should inspire you to throw things out rather than acquire more stuff. He enjoys reusing his much loved Christmas decorations rather than trying to create a new theme every year, he's not interested in stockpiling tat for stocking fillers - the fact is he doesn't actually have any stockings to fill. He can take pleasure in sitting alone in his bare kitchen with a bowl of porridge (but he would always serve it in a favourite bowl - quite possibly stirred with an upside down spurtle). He makes me long for a calmer, more pared back life - DH has to keep reminding me that's unachievable when your home is full of family. In fact I think it's probably a very good book for anyone finding themselves alone at Christmas because calm and solitude are VVN. Your garden sounds wonderful by the way and harvesting, cooking and preserving couldn't be more Nigel.

This is a lovely post @EphemeraleEudemonia I’ve been enjoying all the gathering and cooking posts. I’m also vegetarian but have loved the Nordic mushrooms :).

back from a bracing walk along the beach to knit whilst the baked potatoes crisp up.

Great post @LillianGish Nigel obviously has a great earning potential, but I get the impression he spends his money wisely. A sort of 'look after the pennies, and the pounds will look after themselves' mentality.

@Bimblesalong that candle display looks awesome. I much prefer to sniff before I buy, but I don't think I have any St Eval stockists nearby. Many years ago I used to have a café and gift shop. I stocked Lily Flame, which are at the slightly cheaper end of the market, but still rather lovely. I used to cause something of a dent in my profits from buying too many of them myself!

This is the best thing I've read today!

I get the impression that you're fairly close to me - if so, Fenwick in Newcastle is a stockist, every time we cut through to use the underground metro entrance we walk past the display and I have to restrain myself!

Yes, I'm about 8 miles from Newcastle City centre. Haven't been into town much lately, but I'll check it out next time I'm in. I'm also coveting some Casafina Mallorcan crockery that Fenwick stock

@EphemeraleEudemonia Being More Nigel is definitely more about state of mind than actually indulging in all his suggestions IMO, I read the book every year but I’ve hardly cooked any of the recipes.

However, I did buy some St Eval tealights last year and they didn’t give off much scent. They are still all in my tealight holders (I only use them at Christmas) and smell nice if you pick them up though. I don’t use candles much, I’d like to in theory but we are one of those families who wanders in and out of the house all evening and potters about even if we are in so I worry about forgetting them. We also have cats that climb.

Marking my place

@RainbowZebraWarrior I've had a go at making candles as well in the past but have always been a bit disappointed that the scent isn't as strong as I'd like. Any tips? Ps I also love a Neom!

@ranoutofquinoaandprosecco I love a Malin and Goetz scented candle, but they are very expensive so when it burns down I re melt the wax and make it into tea lights to make sure I get all of the scent.

How did I not know that Newcastle has an underground metro? I genuinely did not know that. Fabulous.

@GrannyWeatherwaxsBroomstick ooh top tip. I'm currently using up their rum soap I think I got in my Liberty advent last year. It's lovely and the kids and DH are banned from being anywhere near jt!

Yes, most of our metro system is overground, but there are five stations within the city boundaries that are underground. I remember being hugely excited about ut as a kid when it was all opened. I've also done emergency evacuation training from the tunnels (many years ago as a police cadet, they volunteered us for all sorts!)