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!

That’s really complicated and I feel for you. You’re making the right decision for the right kids at the right time - and a really difficult one too. I feel for your DD - it will be different, but this is just a short season in your long lives I think.

@RainbowZebraWarrior that sounds horrid. I hope it’s done it’s big tantrum and is on its way away.

@piscofrisco a good choice but a hard one. @AgathaMystery has it in one, right choice at the right time for those children but nonetheless hard.

We call things “comedy accidents” at our house (unless they are really not) as there have been plenty which are amusing on retelling. I’m usually found upended somewhere giggling when things happen to me apart from the ouching that goes along with them. My bruises are coming out well and I have quite an egg on my knee. In the event of the zombie apocalypse my weapon of choice will be the large Le C shallow casserole (teal). I reckon the orange one would be the Vinnie Jones of the cast iron world.

Massive solar flare hitting tomorrow night. Forecast as kp7. Bloomin cloud forecast. It looks a frisky fortnight, I hope we get a chance and clear skies.

lots of people down with sickness bugs all over the place. This was me last week. Hope you feel better soon RZW.

a way to go before we move anyway so we will see what happens.

I’ve had a lovely evening as dh and I have been for a sound bath. I’m quite sceptical
about these things normally but the gongs were quite the thing and it was very relaxing. DH loved it and said he could feel all the stress draining from him-and he is the last person to buy into anything he considers remotely woo. Highly recommend.

I like the sound of that @piscofrisco I (we) need to start getting out again and something healing like a sound bath would be good. We do have tickets to ds2’s big concert next week. The orchestra he is in has been going for 25 years so it’s a big party. Looking forward to it but expecting it to feel a bit overwhelming too.

Such a hard decision @piscofrisco , but the right one I think .
@RainbowZebraWarrior I hope you begin to feel better soon.

Thanks for the well wishes, all. It's not a stomach bug, it's a reaction to my (previously safe) erythromycin which is now full of cheap, crap, allergy ridden fillers. I'm so angry as I was just starting to feel well in general and this will now set my system back months. I've emailed my reactions diary to my immunology consultant and I'll speak to her secretary in the morning about restarting biologics asap. The list of safe meds and foods gets shorter and shorter. Bloody MCAS

@piscofrisco that sounds like such a difficult situation to be in I just can't imagine. Pleased to hear that you and DH enjoyed the sound bath though. Does it involve singing bowls as well as gongs?

Anyway, I hope everyone has a lovely Sunday. I'm determined to get out today.

@piscofrisco i love a sound bath but have to choose very carefully as I, like your DH, have no interest in woo. There’s a lady near here who runs them but she also constructs a crystal grid, and you have to choose a crystal to guide you, and that is just not me. Not as bad as the one I went to once who all but implied that people had given themselves cancer by not being sufficiently woo. My friend and I both came away from that one feeling quite angry

RainbowZebraWarrior; Erythromycin's a horrible drug even if you don't have allergies. My nephew had it as a child, and threw up about 10 times in an hour.

Oh Lord. It’s truly rubbish when the thing that is meant to make you better is making you feel worse. I hope you get some answers and some help asap @RainbowZebraWarrior

gongs and bowls! Anymore woo than that and I think I would have struggled too @SheherazadesSeasonalNonsense. As it was DH did get the giggles at the end when the coming round but involved the lady reciting a poem. Other that that he really wants to go again as he says he slept better than he has for ages. There is one near us held on a lake where you lie on a big raft thing which I think sounds good!

Hope you feel better soon @RainbowZebraWarriorsideeffects to antibiotics are horrid

off to the local National trust place and a garden centre today. But apart from that having a chilled out Sunday here.

The raft thing sounds rather good @piscofrisco (as long as one isn't feeling nauseous and dizzy, natch) I'm another that's not woo, but I know what I like. I had too many people preach at me when I was travelling (including those who try to perform Reiki on you without asking!) I did yoga for 20 years which unfortunately helped me bugger up my body in round about way. The only thing I still really practice is candle meditation as I find people and sounds are a sensory overload mostly now.

Did anyone 'do' Earth hour last night? I always really enjoy it. Total darkness throught the entire house. No lights or lamps, just one candle. No TV, no radio, no music, nothing. Pure silence. It's really relaxing. I might start doing it once a month.

DD just came and asked me if I knew of a film called Toast. She was not surprised to hear that yes, I had and it was the story of Nigel's childhood. She'd seen a clip on YouTube and desperately wants to watch it now but it's been taken off all platforms that I can see. Just ordered the DVD from Vinted, so something to look forward to next weekend maybe.

@Bimblesalong the proton levels are starting to rise sharply so it looks like that coronal mass ejection is imminent. The kp is currently sitting at 2, but I'm checking every 30 minutes. As you said, the cloud cover is the fly in the ointment atm. Keeping everything crossed that it might clear.

Fingers crossed @RainbowZebraWarrior We’ve clearer skies forecast from around 9pm which is when Aurora app is giving 5kp.

The protons have fallen sharply away again, and so has the solar wind, so nothing looking likely right now. I suppose this is why space weather is so hard to predict. Tomorrow would be better all round really.

Just dropping in to say hello, I have been AWOL for about three weeks, I struggle to keep up sometimes (I am the “host” of another long running thread this month so posting on that is taking up most of my MN time).

Sorry to hear about illnesses and injuries. I have also had a Le Creuset accident, we used to keep our big casserole dish on top of the fridge freezer and one day someone must have not pushed it back far enough so when I opened the fridge door it fell down. Thankfully it didn’t hit either my head or my foot but it did break in two (and no, the warranty didn’t cover it). We do not keep anything heavy up there now, we have been warned.

Someone mentioned their DH having had a good outcome from a prostate diagnosis, my DH had the same about 15 months ago and they found a tiny amount of low grade cancer so he was put on routine monitoring (PSA every three months, MRI once a year). He’s just had the MRI and no change so they are putting that to every three years and carrying on with the PSA tests now.

We have had some beautiful weather in the last week but back to gloom this weekend, I have been spending time at the allotment, loving the longer hours of daylight.

Happened to pop into lidl today. £4.50 for a slice of Victoria sponge at the NT place as opposed to £1.99 for the whole cake at Lidl . And it’s getting to that point of the month where payday seems ages away. Anyway there were loads of candles in the queue for the till. Has anyone tried a Lidl candle and any smells which are nice or which to avoid? Because of where they are situated can’t spend ages smelling and deciding.

Morning all.

Good to hear from you @EarlierDistraction

I have never tried any of Lidl's candles @CrushingOnRubies I'm not sure why. Possibly because I don't get there often, and when we do, we tend to go a bit mad in the bakery dept and forget what else they sell.

Dear God, I ache after spending most of the last four days in bed. I've managed to get DD to school, though. She has 3 medical appointments over today and tomorrow. They always seem to come together. Anyway, my spirits were lifted by the sound of a song thrush when I stepped outside this morning. 🐦‍⬛

I also managed to drive around to my parents last night and came away with my father's 1969 wrangler denim jacket, an original 1950s grandad shirt and his old 70s neckerchiefs (he was really into the folk scene then) Sadly, his waitcoats wont fit me, so I shall peruse vinted - can you tell I've had too much time on my hands lately? - They are all in the washing machine now, but I fear the denim jacket may disintigrate as it appeared to be held together with dust!

Ooh, here comes the sun!! 🌞

Beautiful walk with the dog. I'm sure you can hear the birdsong.

Hoping the lift in the weather lifts people's energy and spirits.

That looks stunning @HannahDefoesSpringFling the birds are singing madly here too. I've had my bird app on in the garden all day. I've also watched a pair of collared Doves build a neat in one of my trees. Have planted up some more bits including a happy little hanging basket. So lovely to have sunshine.

I'm just back from DDs physio and as there's a lidl next to the hospital, I had to pop in (in the interests of candle research obviously) I can say that the rose and rhubarb didn't smell of anything, the gingerlily was also underwhelming, but this nectarine and honey is amazing. I think they are only £2.96 each with the lidl plus app.

I'm so excited as I always feel like I do when I've been supermarket shopping on the continent.

Awww thanks @RainbowZebraWarriorhow are you feeling? Will definitely try out the nectarine and honey. Love a trip to Lidl of a bit stressful at times.

The birds really were singing madly today. There were a lot of Robins singing their hearts out. We were putting signs out for next week ends antiques fair and stopped in Dunster for coffee and a snack. The cafe we like to patronise has a sheltered courtyard and it was lovely sitting in the sun. One of the robins came to visit our table, having a look to see if we had any crumbs for him (we did!). I had an absolutely delicious cheese scone, fresh out of the oven. I would post a picture, but I'd eaten it before I thought about It!

Morning all! (Just)

Birds are a singing again today, although it's gone dull here now.

Got DD sorted with her first appointment of thr day. Very proud of her starting to manage a lot of the conversation herself now.

That sounds lovely @Confusedmeanderings I used to go a lot to the Dalton forest in NYorks, and the robins there would feed from your hand. Cheese scone also sounds lush (Hmm, appetite coming back)

I'm starting to feel a lot better thanks @CrushingOnRubies although ive still not chanced owt but toast yet.

My Mum had her 'all clear' after 5 years and discharged phone calk this morning. 😊

Few little moments of joy there.

Mini rant. If I see any more photos of that rocket spiral from last night I think I might scream. Evil little man polluting our world atmosphere.

Ah some good news RZW. Good! Ans glad you are feeling a bit better. Full her today too but the birds have been chirping away on the farm and the blossom in the orchard is staring to peep through on some of the varieties. Unfortunately the rats have also woken up and are everywhere. I opened a big feed bag today to find one casually sitting atop staring at me. The saucy little knave didn’t even bother to look scared! Par for the course on farms but they must have all had rat babies at the same time or something as we’ve gone from one or two to hundreds of them!

@piscofrisco crumbs. Can you get some dogs up there for a day? Something with a high prey drive like a lurcher?

No news here except the Sainsbury/Habitat tomato leaf scent is DIVINE. My diffuser broke on day 2 but they immediately exchanged it so that’s good. I’ve been trying really hard to learn good Sashiko technique as I’ve decided to make a quilt of it by hand. Should keep me out of trouble for a couple of years. We are also having a new office built in what was our guest room… right now it looks like an utter bomb site but I have faith it’ll looks slightly better in a week perhaps.