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)

Oh gosh, that is just simply wonderful! I'm really excited to receive the new book and I miss his TV programmes so much. There was definitely some sort of documentary being worked on. I see it's now been amended to say he's working on it now for 2025.

One of my favourite jobs in autumn, planting hyacinth bulbs, anticipating the lovely fragrant flowers in the middle of winter - now got to clear out the bottom of the pantry so they can sit somewhere dark and cool for a few weeks.

Is it me, or does Nigel seem a bit melancholy in that Instagram piece?

Yes. I also thought he came across like that in his recent garden piece.

Thank you so much for the reminder. DD wants to do hyacinths this year. Do you use any particular variety or colour? I know a lot of people plant paper white narcissi, but I'm not keen on them.

I usually plant prepared hyacinths for growing indoors, and I love the white ones - there’s usually lots of bright colours in the house around Christmas so the pure white ones are a lovely contrast, and the perfume is gorgeous.

What a lovely day it was today. The sun was shining and it was gloriously warm with just a nip of chill in the breeze that was blowing. We threw out all the plans we had for jobs around the house and other such workaday things and spent the afternoon mooching around the harbour, sitting in the sun and watching the steam trains come and go from the heritage railway. Perfect!

and use a favourite ink pen - ultimate Nigel there @Bimblesalong (just make sure your Christmas cards are not made from recycled paper - or the envelopes for that matter!)

DH and I did exactly the same as you, @Confusedmeanderings , put all the jobs on hold, and went for a walk on the cliffs overlooking beautiful Filey Bay. The sky was blue, the sea turquoise and the sun shone - a wonderful escape, such a treat.

Me too!
I haven't used it since 😂

We also put all on hold and went to the beach - strictly speaking a river estuary, but there were icecream vans! Making the most of every day is so important.

Super busy day at work here but just went to collect DS from his friends and saw a stunning sunset and the most amazing full moon hanging low in the sky. No pics as I was driving but so beautiful made my day 🥰

DD is baking tonight - she’s much better at it than me, I’m more a cook than a baker. It’s my partner’s birthday in a few days so she’s done chocolate cupcakes and we’ve ordered some beautiful edible autumn leaves to decorate them with. He’s lucky having his birthday at such a lovely time of year!

I planted my hyacinths last week too, they are in those glass hyacinth vases, which are somewhat gaudy (one clear, one pink, one blue) and I think I went for blue bulbs this year. We started when the DCs were young with a white, blue and pink bulb in the corresponding glasses and a race to see which grew fasteste but it was always pink, the DCs have lost interest now they are grown up so I just buy three of the same, but always do it in the first week of autumn term even though they have both left school.

It was a glorious sunset / moonrise tonight, I stopped at the local hill on the way home and walked up (you can park fairly near the top) it was stunning

My hydrangeas are turning from a horrible candyfloss pink to deep burgundy

Gorgeous pic @EternallyDelighted 🥰

Beautiful photos 💕Thank you for sharing them. Unfortunately I was indoors all day but seeing those was lovely

The plus side of getting up at 4.30am for work is that sometimes I see owls on my commute, especially in the autumn and winter. Saw my first owl of the season yesterday morning :)
just returned from collecting DH from Gatwick and saw badgers, multiple foxes and a cat I often see in the early hours in my favourite country lane (god I'm so middle aged now I have favourite roads).

The weather was so beautiful yesterday DS and I went for an evening walk in the village. I was hoping to see hedgehogs but none were out yesterday. A few years ago some nested in our shed and I like to think they are now grown up and pottering about the village! The moon was so bright we had moon shadows, we saw several bats, heard an owl and (most excitingly!) fairly sure we glimpsed a shooting star! DS loved it and said it made him feel very calm, I think we might make a night walk a regular thing, it's a great way to experience the changing season.

@hobbledyhoy, @Bimblesalong & @Bimblesalong

So sorry for the weird message. I couldn't make it delete names. Accidentally posted and now it won't delete either.
I'm not good with technology which is sad as that is what I used to do for a living

No problem @GrannyWeatherwaxsBroomstick - welcome! 😊

Some amazing photos! What a beautiful day yesterday was. Today looks to be a similar day, although not quite as hot. It was 21 degrees here yesterday, which was lovely, but rather took me by surprise.

@Bearsinmotion we love an evening walk here too - my DS calls them Moon walks! Sometimes he will pick up a stick or a leaf and we play a game of which hand to decide which way to turn each time we reach a junction. It's amazing what you notice on an evening walk and I find he chats to me about his day lots more too which is nice. I am grateful for this lovely sunny weather but secretly wishing it would turn a bit colder and crisper!! Anyway a day off today and a lovely morning spent so far in the kitchen trying out a new apple cake recipe and happy to be able to dry my washing outside! If the cake is a success I will post the recipe - it uses stewed apples instead of chopped. Off to dog training now my favourite activity of the week! 😊

@imp2007 Moon walks is a great name for them. 12 year old DD and I also go out for an evening walk, too. She talks to me about allsorts, and we vary our times, obviously depending on time of year and if we want to see the sunset or if we want a proper dark walk. Halloween onwards is her favourite time due to decorations etc. I've noticed the last few nights it's definitely start to feel that way. The leaves, woodsmoke, moon sliding out from behind wispy clouds etc. It's the favourite part of our day. Especially when we have a really late one just before bedtimes at weekends. She loves to leave the lounge light on as a warming beacon beckoning us home.