The Year Round Nigel Slater Discussion thread

[RainbowZebraWarrior]

Hello, all.

The Nigel Slater Christmas Chronicles readalong usually takes place here between November and February each year (the Christmas Chronicles being a book written by Nigel Slater full of winter recipes and anecdotes) It's been running for a few years, and the contributors have collectively decided it would be nice to have it running all year round.

So here it is. It is a place to appreciate all things Nigel-esque. Think seasonal food and recipes, enjoyment of nature, sharing of news and small moments of joy. It's a calm, cosy space for gentle chat and merriment so pull up a chair, grab a cuppa and relax.

A very hearty welcome to friends new and old!

Where are you @Bimblesalong , or is that a home cheese fest? Looks exceptional.
And @LostInAMist I am very sad that my DH has no discernable craft-type skills at all and will never make me a beautiful metal rose. That is fabulous. (Would he do bullrushes? I tried to commission some metal bullrushes from a chap I met at the Tatton flower show a few years back, I want them next to my pond. He was very flaky, even though he had metal bullrushes as a thing he would do, on his website, and I gave up in the end but I'd still like some!)
Hope suit fitting goes well @RainbowZebraWarrior and for the record cake is 100% a breakfast food anyway, but one with dates and walnuts even more so.
It's a glorious day here, we had a frost and the skies are blue. I'm packing to catch a train to Bath to spend the weekend with DD1 who is at uni there. I've actually never been when it isn't pouring with rain so I am quite hopeful. I turned 50 last year and some lovely friends bought me a voucher for the thermal spa so we are going to use that tomorrow. I'm hoping she has cleaned her bathroom a bit, it is a long time since I stayed in student digs 😱 and I don't know what Nigel would say about it

@SheherazadesSeasonalNonsense Bath is beautiful, not been for many years but I enjoyed it when I went. I hope you have a nice time with your DD.

Currently clock watching until 4 when I can finish work....feel like I am wishing my life away.

They probably could make bullrushes @SheherazadesSeasonalNonsense (it's him and his brother, brother is the Master blacksmith, DH is "just" a blacksmith). They've made all manner of things! I've just caught up with the thread properly, and I'm sorry to hear of your worries @AgathaMystery, I'm keeping my fingers crossed better times are ahead for you. I agree with DD on the teapot @RainbowZebraWarrior, I don't know what to think of it either 😂 @Writerscompanion the gorse is coming out nicely on my neck of the Pembs coast path, I'm tempted to try that candle now! And love and warm wishes to old friends and new I've neglected to mention ❤️
I've had a busy afternoon out in the potting shed with my assistant, Flora the destroyer goddess of flowers. Sorting out which cuttings have survived winter and starting off some seeds. Here's hoping they grow! Just fed the field gang, who were all loving, so now I'm covered in muddy sheep footprints and horse slobber! Just off to go for walkies, then easy comfort tea of jacket spud with cheesy beans I think. Simple comforts food. Have a good evening all x

Evening, all. Hope everyone is well and managing to relax after whatever the week has thrown at you.

I'm in and out of the garden again as the solar wind is quite high again - dinner can wait. Sorry I'm a bit obsessed with the Aurora, but when it's possible, then I'm up for it. The bz (the solar wind's magnetic orientation) is swinging again between North and South again. When it swings south it's literally like switching a light on. Woke up at 3.30am this morning and caught a good display on the Burrafirth camera in the Shetlands.

In other news, I spotted this on the spine of Nigel's Kitchen Diaries in our local library. One of our librarians knows a good thing when they see it!

Hi all, I’ve read back and am nodding but can’t recall of the replies I had in mind as I read. @RainbowZebraWarrior that suit sounds such a blessing and a bane but I’m pleased to read of spoon conservation and aurora possibilities.

waving to @IngenTing thankyou, going in the right direction. One more chemo (I hope next week) and then recovery before getting to a new phase of treatment. Operation Renaissance will begin. All those broken chemo teeth will be fixed, hair will be tidied (what there is of it), although no colour for six months. We’ll see what we think of wiggage but nice scarves and caps will probably be the order of the day. Etc.

@AgathaMystery sorry to hear of renewed redundancy woes. Life comes at us fast sometimes

@SheherazadesSeasonalNonsense Im in one of my favourite places. My onco deemed me fit to travel and with n95 masks, special assistance for me as well as the usual special assistance for ds2, and the bag carrying passenger princess dh, we have made it. Clues in photos today. Hoping so much I don’t pick anything up to delay the last treatment but the memories we’ve made will last forever.

My feet are well and truly up and my heart is full. Much as I love to see my boys enjoy what they do, when it chimes with what I love it’s a double bonus. We have had a day of exploring a major art galleries , ds has adored it and much discussion has happened. Myself and dh have also shared stories of our youth and how we met. We revisited the place of our engagement, where I lit a candle in front of the shrine of an original Warrior Woman, Jeanne D’Arc, sending up a prayer for all women who are striving against adversity.

There has also been Japanese food, patisserie and pizza. Much admiring of Japanese bowls and cookware has happened in some of the specialist shops too. VN

Just been out in the cold to see a really bright, low Venus in the west and Jupiter and then a distinctly red (orangey) Mars.

@Bimblesalong what a day! Sounds bliss. Truly. Where did you get engaged?

I went to a quilt exhibition today & was hugely inspired.

I don’t know how long pics take to approve ATM but they were stunning:

So pleased you made it to wherever you are @Bimblesalong-you so deserve it.

Your librarian is a bit of us @RainbowZebraWarrior for sure...

And a happy Saturday to us all...

I'm feeling a bit better due to magical antibiotics, so into London today to meet my most excellent nephew and his fiancée for lunch and a bimble around an art exhibition at the Barbican. Then a lovely slow Sunday planned tomorrow with a long dog walk and a big garden tidy on the cards.

Refusing steadfastly to watch the news after last night. Clinging to spots in life such as this, our lovely virtual corner of calm.

@HannahDefoesSpringFling well done on your planet spotting. I've managed to see none of them at all!

Just dropping in to say Dydd Gwyl Dewi Hapus i pawb!

Good morning and Dydd Gŵyl Dewi Hapus to you too @LostInAMist

Currently just enjoying the delicious peace and silence of a weekend morning. Planning a candle stocktake later. Goodness knows what I shall uncover!

Photo's from today's entries in Kitchen Diaries and Hemp seed pizza with egg and rocket from KD 3.

Ah, da iawn i ti for getting the tor in there @RainbowZebraWarrior! My phone is steadfastly refusing to believe that is a thing, very frustrating when most of your texts are in need of them!
All the windows are thrown open today to let stale energy out and fresh in! A quick wipe down and tidy up has been done, working through the loads of washing to get on the line. And then it's out to make a start on the vegetable beds! I've also got some autumn fruiting raspberry canes to plant, and some strawberries the were rescued from the last chance saloon in homebase end of the season. They've survived winter, so we can make a bed of them now too. The birds are in full song, Flora is patrolling the garden to keep away the cheeky corvids and squirrels that bully the little birds off the feeders. It's nice seeing everything waking up

"Refusing steadfastly to watch the news after last night. Clinging to spots in life such as this, our lovely virtual corner of calm."

Meant to say Amen to this @piscofrisco I stopped actively watching the news about a year ago, but obviously some elements are impossible to avoid. Through sheer horror, I found myself drawn to the political threads again, but I'm going to unwatch those too.

In that vein, I have busied myself with, and completed my candle stocktake: 95. 95!! I've broken it down in a chart by brand - saddo that I am. Note this does not include tapers or tealights. largely because I don't know where I've hidden the taper candles🕯

As we enter the third month of the year, I am very happy that I have kept up my promise to myself to note a small moment of joy each day in my diary. Hurrah for this.

Love your idea of letting all the stale energy out of the house today @LostInAMist

Also meant to say keep on enjoying your much deserved and lovely sounding trip @Bimblesalong ❤️

I've made rainbow carrot and lentil soup as well as Jamaican season rice today, but I'm now out of spoons, so hoping my Waitrose order arrives soon so that I can sit down.

Oh, and I've just been told off by DD for playing Lola Young too loud. Apparently she was trying to read. Hard to know which of us is the 13 year old and which is the 53 year old!

Anyone watching the Brits tonight?

I cannot believe it is March.....nice to see the days getting longer and the weather has been lovely today. Went for brunch with friends, travelling to neighbouring city for an engagement party for other friends tonight.

I'm hoping to be meeting another friend for a dog walk/hike tomorrow if the weather permits.

@RainbowZebraWarrior your carrot and lentil soup sounds lovely, I made quite a big vat of soup over xmas....went a bit mad on the 19p packs of carrots...tasted lovely though!

Also, loving the candle collection haha. I do have a selection of tealights, wax melts and candles....currently burning a yankee candle I was gifted, warm cashmere, tis lovely.

What a busy and productive day! Lots weeded and rotavated, and plenty of seeds started off. We even managed to plant some tree saplings in some hedgerow gaps. Plus the house work and usual field chores! The house feels fresher inside, fires are going, candle lit and lamps aglow. DH is having a blast on his PS3, I'm reading with a glass of malbec whilst a bolognese is simmering away. Flora is flat out in front of the log burner. She's trying not to pant, because she knows I will make her move! Here's a pic of her making sure the seed potato placements were to her exacting standards 😅

Totally agreeing with the not watching the news crew. Keeps stress levels down!

I think we’ve walked our legs to stumps for ds2’s birthday. Because I’m a bit malfunctioning, we get fast tracked into art galleries and today, had the treat of standing in a special broken (but fierce) people only area in front of this lady. It was very strange to be a couple of feet away from her and to try to view her as a woman and with an attempt at fresh eyes:

It's been a beautifully sunny but chilly day today. Our small market town was heaving, the sun brings everyone out and the combination of that and it being the day after payday for many made our market traders very happy.

We walked into town and had lunch out as treat; everyone in the pub very chatty and cheerful. Sunshine does seem to bring out the best in people.

Came home with two punnets of strawberries (which actully smell of strawberries! No idea where they are from, the stall was so busy there was no time to chat), and DH bought a rather hefty Dutch oven from one of the antique stalls; it's from Denmark apparently and weighs a ton! No doubt this purchase will now encourage more sourdough experiments, which my stomach heartily approves of but my waistline does not!

I now have a restorative glass of fizz and the sun has blessed us with a beautiful sunset, with a crescent moon thrown in for good measure. The photo does not do justice to the vivid colours but here it is.

Other major beauties were seen, with a slap up Italian birthday meal afterwards. We are now riding the glucose ups and downs and hoping that ds2’s insulin pump and sensors can deal with it.

I was not allowed to borrow the nice sparkly hat belonging to someone called Louis.

What a perfect day, @IDareSay A Dutch oven which promises future bounty is a great purchase. What a lovely crescent moon photo.

So glad you made it @Bimblesalong and that the weather is set fair ❤️ I did wonder when I saw your cheese photos! Amusez-vous bien. I’m in the UK with my mum where it has actually been quite foggy. The sun did come out eventually and we managed to have tea in the garden where I actually spotted this butterfly.

Thanks for sharing the photos @Bimblesalong as I feel I've almost been there with you. I've only been to Paris once, with my parents as an 11 year old and was constantly shoved to the front of every café queue for coffee and croissants as my parents didn't speak French but I did (in so much as my schoolgirl French allowed me at the time) I believe that Van Gogh's Starry Night over the Rhone was on loan at it's 'home' at Arles until recently.

I've been out with my celestron binoculars this evening to view Jupiter and Mars in a little more detail before the clouds descended. I used to own two telescopes, but gave them both away as they were cumbersome and took up too much precious space in my little bungalow.

Shout out to @lucysmam as I see from your post today that you're in my city. We are 'gannin t' the toon the morra' but will be arriving and leaving before Newcastle play Brighton at 1.45pm in the 5th round of the FA Cup. Sky Sports coined a now long standing and incorrect name for Newcastle United as the 'Toon Army' The team is actually The Toon (as in town / city) and the Toon Army are actually the fans (the people who follow the team)

@RainbowZebraWarrior we left just over half an hour ago for a longer than usual train journey home along the coast, at a very leisurely pace for a train that usually does 120+ mph 🙄. At least it's nice and quiet (until we get to York probably!).

We had fun shopping this time around, with a quick jaunt to Durham via rail replacement for a wander round the market & ice sculptures dotted about. There were a fair few recommendations on my thread so we're going to see if dd2 fancies a trip at some point - I think the castles and cathedrals will convince her.

Happy March 1st. Feel that spring is certainly springing

Went to the local farmers market brought the obligatory over priced carrots and coffee but always happy to support local businesses

@RainbowZebraWarrior how lovely to have closer views of the planets. The city lights are too bright here but we’ll have a good look next week. You’re right about the Starry Night and oddly, we saw it in Arles last year as part of our Nice/ Avignon area tour. We stood on the side of the Rhône at the spot it was painted. We watched the Van Gogh Dr Who to prepare. 🤣

We seem to have done a cultural exchange, @LillianGish 😀

Just seen that Nigel is relaxing with a lovely cocktail in Japan - he must be feeling very relaxed by now.