The Nigel Slater Christmas Chronicles Readalong 2024 Part 2

[RainbowZebraWarrior]

Welcome all new and old friends.

The journey continues.

We are currently at Center Parcs semi locked down in our lodge has been a strange break but making the most of it lots of games and family time in the lodge. Disappointing to miss out on activities etc we had planned - hopefully going to get out to Stourhead lights this afternoon and get some dinner in Trowbridge. Not brought CC with me so will have some catching up to do when I get home!! Enjoyed reading through the thread and catching up this morning x

@ElectiveAffinities I've got some lebkuchen from Lidl and I've just checked the packet. It says Made in Germany, so I'm happy that they are Spiritually Legit Lebkuchen and therefore Nigel Agreeable <whispers> I don't actually like it myself, it's for Christmas gifts.

@imp2007 sorry to hear you haven't been able to access all the activities, but hope you've managed to have a semi restful break. Do the lodges still all have log fires and barbecues on the balconies? It's been a decade or so since I was last there.

I got my copy submitted this morning then enjoyed three crumpets as a treat (I don't allow myself breakfast till the job is done) I am now drinking copious amounts of tea and stalking victorian solid silver sugar sifters on ebay. Because of course I need one, right? Tbh, I'll be grateful once it's 3 o clock as we are off to hobbycraft for DD to spend a birthday voucher, then going to see Paddington (better late than never) and it will stop me spending online!

@piscofrisco thank you for the background info on Party Mouse. He feels even more special now. I have named him Cyril and I think he suits it.

Oh no @MadMadMad what a collossal disappointment. I hope you get through and the insurance will pay out.

Glad you made it to Alnwick @Confusedmeanderings it's so lovely there.

@Bimblesalong not woo at all. I love trees and I've got a particular one in the wood near us that I always give a pat to and say hello when I'm passing.

And a happy Sunday to
Everyone else. The weather is still too wild to trim up my front door etc so I've been to Aldi and we are thinking about going to the cinema but most likely will hunker down.

I need to make some more Apricot brandy because it all got finished last night-it was a big hit with everyone from the 18 year old to the 94 year old!

Cyril is an excellent name for party mouse. Approved!

I've just bought those exact Lebukhen @ElectiveAffinities-so we are all Nigel adjacent today.

Sorry about your centre parcs lock down @imp2007. The weather must have put down serious spanner's in the works for lots of people this weekend. Feel sorry for all the markets etc going on this weekend and them all being wind and rained off

Our Lebkuchen is also from Lidl! Although dd1 was eyeing up recipes earlier so we'll probably have a go at some point.

Dd1's done mince pies this morning, dd2's biscotti is in the oven for its first bake. I'm just about to find a gingerbread recipe & quickly whip it up for dd2 to cut and bake (she's vanished for an early shower 🙄), then I'll make a start on today's roast.

@RainbowZebraWarrior yes they do we've been enjoying lighting the fire and playing some games - have enjoyed a couple of walks today and even had a deer come onto our patio at first light this morning feeling well rested and grateful for some family time x

I'm very partial to a good lebkuchen. Weirdly, our Lidl ones don’t say where they’re made…

@lucysmam it sounds very industrious in your kitchen!
@imp2007 sorry about your c
centrepark break, but I hope you are enjoying lots of quality family time.
@ElectiveAffinities I'm all in favour of tackiness! Much as I love being Nigel Adjacent when I can, I also enjoy being very far from Nigel!
@MadMadMad I now feel ashamed of myself for moaning about our journey up. What a colossal disappointment for you. I hope you can arrange something to look forward to soon.

In other news, I've forgotten to bring my reading glasses, DH's glasses have lost a screw so he's walking around like Jack Duckworth with them sellotaped up, the shower flooded this morning,, I love the Christmas lights in the town, the cottage has been decorated for Christmas complete with tree and we're having a fab time!

@Confusedmeanderings it is indeed! Gingerbread dough is resting in the fridge now & we're on with our roast dinner now 😋

I'd post a pic of the mince pies & biscotti but apparently it's too large 🤷‍♀️ You'll have to take my word thay @RainbowZebraWarrior 's biscotti recipe is goood 😊

Smiling at Jack duckworth @Confusedmeanderings

@lucysmam could I trouble you for your gingerbread recipe at all? I had a good one and I can't remember where it was from, not what I did with it!

@piscofrisco it's one I've googled, may not be any good. I cannot find my old, tatty, book with mine in anywhere 😥

@RainbowZebraWarrior you have prompted me to dig out my own silver sugar sifter. I love the way silver gleams in candlelight, I don’t love the fact that it’s so high-maintenance in terms of cleaning.

That's beautiful @LillianGish I've been looking at one almost identical. However, I am also very taken with the ones that look like this:

Both sugar sifters are beautiful! Old silver looks so beautiful, and even a little of the black oxide makes the texture show up so clearly.
I have a ring made of the end of a silver teaspoon, which I am very fond.

Made festive brownies today (dark chocolate and cocoa, with glacé cherries, mixed peel, mixed nuts and currants, and mixed spice). Super gooey, have had to hide them from DH.

Also, finished making the decorations and cards for my family.

We had roast pumpkin pasties for dinner, and I've justfinally put the order in with the butcher for the turkey. Feeling all relieved now, we've survived the wind!

@WeMeetInFairIthilien those Brownies sound amazing, and your cards are fabulous. Turquoise is my favourite colour.

Those cards are fabulous @WeMeetInFairIthilien - and just in time for Nigel’s fabulous card chapter tomorrow (one of my favourites!)

Evening all…. Gosh I’d be tempted to right that tree and cross my fingers. I remember the hurricane of ‘87 blew down our orchard and snapped trees in half. They were hanging together by their bark. The gardener wanted to cut all the trees down but my mum went out the next day, with the first aid box - insisted all the trees were staked and then righted the trees and bandaged them up. They all survived!!

For clarity, this was a large council owned nursing home that my dad ran and we lived on site - not a stately home that we rattled ‘round in with staff.

No cake made here in the end, but we did decorate the Christmas tree, my dad is staying and we are having a really lovely time. I cooked a roast and some friends have popped by to say hi to him.

Love the pics of sugar sifters. I deal in antiques and love a bit of silver! I would recommend seeing if you have an auction house nearby. Prices are usually (though not always!) less than retail prices. Most auctions post their catalogues online so it's easy to keep an eye out. The 2 big downsides are the buyers fees and the fact that there is a big danger of falling in love with lots of things so you buy more than you meant to!

Amen to that. I once went with a colleague to an auction. We both wanted a new light fitting.

He left with a gold Rolls Royce convertible .

Those cards are beautiful!!

9 December

The Christmas card

The e-card, a modern day version of Henry Cole's 1843 invention, lacks everything that the traditional paper card embodies. The shuffle of envelopes as they fall on the doormat; the quizzical analysis of the handwriting; the tug of the slightly wedged card from it's envelope - and the delight on finding a greeting from someone you haven't seen in a while or whose writing you didn't recognise.

@Confusedmeanderings we have some good auction houses around here which I used to frequent a lot in my younger years. I'd buy and sell a little bit (back in the days where you'd use the physical miller's antiques / collectibles books) love a good auction! Hope you enjoy the rest of your trip up here. The weather should be cold and crisp from herein (as December should be!)

We have the 'Santa Bus' coming through the village tonight. This is an open top bus covered in lights that the local bus company put on each year to drive around the villages, from which Santa waves and shouts greetings to everyone.