The Nigel Slater Christmas Chronicles Readalong 2024 Part 3

[RainbowZebraWarrior]

Welcome to thread three.

The Christmas Chronicles is the story of Nigel Slater’s love for winter. Taking you from 1 November all the way to early February, The Christmas Chronicles covers everything from Bonfire Night, Christmas and New Year to Epiphany. Throughout the season, Nigel offers over 100 recipes to see you through the build-up, the celebrations and the aftermath.

Anyone who hasn't yet joined in, there's still a big chunk of the book to go as you can see from the description above. It's in diary form with an entry most days and is easy to dip in and out of.

Anyway, welcome friends new and old. Pull a cosy chair closer the the fire, light a candle, pour a glass of something warming and settle in.

ALERT

Nigel on BBC2 now. New programme with Adam the farmer bloke off of Country file.

I was a bit late with my alert 😁

Fabulously Nigelesque photo there @dazzlingdeborahrose. I’m thinking of taking gratitude as my word for the year - thanks for the inspiration @RainbowZebraWarrior. I think appreciating what you have and loving it is definitely the way to go and I think this thread helps a lot with that. I love peeking into all your different lives - those who live by the sea, in rural heaven, Scandinavian splendour, crafting geniuses, brilliant cooks with dogs, cats, chickens and bees. We all have our crosses to bear to some degree (and some much more than others admittedly), but what shines through here are all the lovely things that no one can put a price on (ridiculously expensive candles aside ).

Excellent Nigel news - my fancy tellybox has let me start it from the beginning. Dh has his head in his hands (but secretly loves Nigel as he has encouraged me to eat cabbage, which is dh’s culinary first love).

@Bimblesalong i thought you might like to see my chair. I bought it in an antique shop in China. No idea what sort of wood it is - and actually nobody sits in it much as we all prefer to loll, but when you do have to then the bar that you put your feet on is worn perfectly to be smooth and lovely.

Oh that’s a good chair too!! Lovely.

@Confusedmeanderings please can we see the trees? I was reading in December Country Life magazine (absolute middle class trash full of vapid articles and LOVELY PHOTOS) about 2 men who carve tree shapes. They were beautiful and prohibitively expensive all at once. I wanted all of them immediately of course.

@SheherazadesSeasonalNonsense that is beautiful! Travel is a wonderful thing.

@AgathaMystery I must get onto the Libby app and have a look at that (thanks @SheherazadesSeasonalNonsense !).

Good evening 😊 would also like to extend my thanks to @RainbowZebraWarrior for these threads and the pre- ambles. I've had such a nice time in our koselig corner of the Internet. I feel like I almost know some of you.
We've had a nice weekend here enjoying the snow and cooking. Roast beef, Yorkshire puddings and a chocolate fudge cake!
We've had my favourite type of snow for snowboarding, puddersnø or powder snow. The lift was smooth and the snow was perfect for some deep carving. I was able to get a little snap of my board on the lift.
It's currently minus 26 this evening, we headed inside this afternoon when it dropped to minus 20 and DH had worn the wrong type of wool socks so his feet were cold. In this weather it usually needs a thin merino sock with a thicker wool over the top. My ultra cool 15 year old inner teenage self would be mortified with my wool socks and temperature knowledge!
We had a beautiful sunrise this morning over "my" mountain. And a treat this evening! I found a bottle of apple glögg in the cupboard thst I had forgotten about over Christmas, so that was wonderful heated up after dinner.
I'm looking forward to leaning into January with you all.

Minus 26, wow! It was 12 here earlier, weirdly warm after the snow!

We are back home now, decorations down and Christmas is over for another year. Really glad to have CC to see me through January.

Wow, there's some good content here today! Beautiful chairs and snowy pics.

@IngenTing I've just been reading an interview with the comedian Omid Djalili in Waitrose magazine and he extols the virtues of Norwegian brown cheese. In fact he says it's the most delicious cheese on the planet and nobody knows about it!

Loved watching Nigel and Adam earlier and looking forward to the next episodes. I'm not sure how I've never heard of this programme before as it was made in 2013.

Another lovely chair @SheherazadesSeasonalNonsense

And Thankyou for the Nigel alert-that's my evening viewing sorted .

The laziest of days here and I've enjoyed every second of it. Hope everyone is warm and dry and gearing up for back to school and work and what have you. Christmas well and truly over I suppose which always makes me feel a tad sad.

I thought of you today @RainbowZebraWarrior as I've had my almond and macaroon candle on the go. It's a cracker. Even DD's boyfriend said how nice it smelled and he is usually a boy of few words!

@IngenTing what a lovely discussion of the right kind of snow and socks. You’re right. It’s cold here in the UK but not super cold. I had some hand knitted fairisle socks on which have been find for summer and autumn. I definitely should have swapped them over for looped wool walking socks as I felt the chill walking. It was lovely to put on my waterproof over trousers, technical coat, walking boots and use my poles though. There’s a sense of satisfaction in having the right equipment so that you can focus on the walk not on feeling cold / damp.

I read a blog recently that resonated with me. Want what you have.

Galette des rois this evening with friends to mark epiphany. Apparently there’s a dispute about what day 12th night should fall on - Protestants traditionally say the 5th while Catholics go for the 6th (according to our host!) We went for the 5th because Sunday works better than Monday.

@AgathaMystery that is spot on. You do get to a stage in life where you start to think about how you want things if there is the privilege of ageing. Living life well with no regrets is so important.

That is a divine gallette, @LillianGish

Gorgeous looking Galette @LillianGish

I've made a note of that blog @AgathaMystery it sounds great and right up my street.

I've just written in my diary and it's been so lovely to note one or two small moments of joy in there each day (even though it's only 5th) I am absolutely determined to keep it going as I find it can reframe your day. You can forget any difficulties and struggles a little easier when the last things you read are "had a good giggle and a singalong with DD whilst watching the Masked Singer" and "lovely comments and thanks from Nigel Friends" before bed. Going to watch a bit of Miranda now before lights out as I find it a good way to end my day.

DD has just asked me how, when I have ADHD am I able to commit to this thread daily. I just replied because I love it.

Thank you all, for making this thread so wonderful.

The galette looks delicious @LillianGish

@Bimblesalong you are so right about the satisfaction of having the right equipment. I rarely seem to have the right clothes for things these days and have decided to remedy that as I'm sick of walking the dogs in bad weather in leaky wellies and an old anorak that I think dd got from a charity shop even in the first place so it's truly ancient. I bought some boots from sorel yesterday in the sale which I'm hoping will do for our Finland trip but also for general hikes here. I used to get excited about designer clobber-now I'm excited for walking boots. Such is life I suppose but I'm not unhappy with the progression really. I'm definitely the happier for it. I'm certainly happier when I want what I have for sure as per that blog, ( except in the area of candles I suppose-and I've also long wanted to keep a few goats and hens-that's the dream-we have space here just about but I don't think the neighbours would be overjoyed).

Weirdly warm here this morning, but raining. Going to start to attempt redecorating our shower room today. It's tucked in to the roof so slopey ceilings and odd angles and I fear it will be a massive pain. The house is going on the market at Easter and I've a fair bit of decorating to do before then so I'm grasping the nettle. (Nettle? Metal? Mettle? I can never remember what it is I'm meant to be grasping ).

Just having a coffee and catching up before getting ready for work. Loving the snow pictures - very mild down here in Cornwall we hardly ever get snow but would love some!!! @piscofrisco your day yesterday sounds heavenly - I find time to myself is one of the biggest luxuries nowadays! I have finished the book I treated myself to and thoroughly enjoyed it so will start looking for my next read and try and join in the daily reading, think that little bit of downtime each day doing something thoroughly enjoyable just for yourself is so beneficial.

@IngenTing always enjoy your posts and pics - thank you!!! I found a bottle of mulled Cider yesterday in my tidying so still have that to look forward to.

Both chairs are beautiful I love the idea of the stories they could tell. I'm often in older properties for work and find myself thinking the same.

Back to school on Wednesday for us so still a couple of days off for the DC - dog walking duties for them today! Have really enjoyed the Christmas period but quite looking forward to getting back into routine and certainly some healthier recipes on the horizon. Hope everyone stays warm and has a good Monday x

@Bimblesalong @SheherazadesSeasonalNonsense beautiful chairs. And lovely snowy photos too. @piscofrisco it sounds like your pup had fun in the snow 😊. @LillianGish your Galette looks tasty!

@IngenTing your posts are always interesting to read.

I'll join the chorus of thanks @RainbowZebraWarrior. I've really enjoyed being part of the thread this year...and managing to keep up 😊

We have an unexpected snow day 🥳 . I'm up & ready to walk into work so not entirely what I'll do with myself now apart from stick less smart clothes on & enjoy my brew!

@Bimblesalong @piscofrisco Yes! To having the right gear! I think I've said it here, but there's a saying over here Det finnes ikke dårlig vær, bare dårlig klær! No such thing as bad weather, only bad clothes.
With it being so cold here, there's no such thing right now as nipping to the shop in the car wearing a hoody. You really need the right clothes or you can get in trouble quickly. My kids went back to school/barnehage on 2nd of January and they were still happily playing for hours outside in minus 24.
When I lived in the city, I used to enjoy getting nice clothes etc for work, but here it's just not practical. It's expensive to get all the right stuff, especially for the kids and they grow like weeds. My daughter has snow gloves with pure lambs wool inside that she uses at barnehage (nursery) and they were about £50! But everyone is in the same boat, everything is named and everyone helps each other. For example, if you see a glove in the forest, you pick it up and text the number that a parent has labelled inside and return it. It's the culture here and it's lovely.

@piscofrisco your Sorels will be perfect. All 4 of us have them here, they are great. As are the proper winter Timberland boots. Many thin layers instead of few thick ones is they key. I really like Kari Traa merino wool underlayers. They are excellent.

Happy Monday everyone, now I need to go and try and start the car.

We had ALL the stuff when we lived in Canada. I've just become lazy as the weather here is so benign and the necessity seems less. But I'm also sick of having wet feet so....pleased you also have Sorels @IngenTing - they were not cheap even at half off, so I'm hoping they last me a long while.

Morning!
I have just caught up with the thread - it has been such a lovely treat to read and see everyone’s photos and hear their news!
My word is gratitude too ☺️ hoping to ease peacefully into this year and enjoy the little things.
I have been in Vinted and ordered quite a few books to keep me going..
Thank you so much for this thread it has kept me going and made my happy 😊 xx

6 January

Epiphany or Twelfth Night

I am constantly on the lookout for celebrations, personal, public, or local. If necessary, I will borrow them from other cultures (I would happily celebrate Hannukah if I didn't feel, as a non-Jew that it might be seen as rather inappropriate) My enthusiasm was only an excuse to bake a cake. Epiphany is the twelfth and last day of Christmas. It is, for some, a religious celebration, that of the coming of the Magi, bringing gifts to the baby Jesus. Truth told, the date is more in my calendar for being the day the decorations are supposed to come down.

I love today’s chapter - it helps me come to terms with dismantling all the Christmas joy. Nigel absolutely sums it up for me with: I find packing away the decorations both unbearably sad an something of a relief. We swept clean on Saturday (and are still finding needles!) My spirits were substantially lifted today when I found this Durance scented candle advent calendar half price in my local Monoprix for the second year running. I have tucked it away for next Christmas - knowing it is there is giving me a cosy glow. Small pleasures.