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!

@Bimblesalong sending love to you. I’m so sorry about your friend. Bloody cancer indeed.

I’m in pain today. And I look ghastly. Truly. About 500 yrs old. WTF. I have pottered a bit though in a way that has made my family sort of scuttle about after me tidying their lives up. So that’s good. All I have to do is look at a pile of cricket stuff and it disappears. Excellent.

DD has also been trying on all last summers holiday clothes in anticipation of 4 nights in Mallorca next week. We have dubbed this try on ‘baby slut wear’ as 1. I was on a lot of morphine & 2. Everything that looked so sweet last summer looks grossly inappropriate on her this summer. Time for some slightly larger clothes.

@Bimblesalongso sorry for the loss of your friend

@AgathaMysteryi hope you have a bell so can order tea and biscuits as required. Chores which others do whilst you have a sit down are great when recuperating. I remember being that awkward tween stage where after a growth spurt nothing fitted and had to go shopping with mum.

Oh bless you @AgathaMystery I hope you turn a corner soon. I love the fact that you always retain your most excellent sense of humour even when you feel crap.

I'm glad I tested DD today as I was due to restart biologics on Thursday, so that's had to be cancelled. It's on a day ward with Immunotherapy patients so there are undertandably strict rules about testing and being 5 days clear. Even though I haven't tested positive for covid myself, I have the symptoms and it's not worth the risk to others.

Loving all the Cornish connections and reading about all the traditions. My folks used to visit friends in Fort Picklecombe a lot and the husband is in the fisherman's friends. It's a real tonic hearing about such lovely things in a world full of utter madness at the minute. A much needed antidote if you will.

@RainbowZebraWarriorso sorry for the delay in treatment. But better to know now and not put others at risk.

never heard of Fort Picklecombe, but love the name. Don’t really know the area around Torpoint.

if you YouTube Helston Flora day, it might give you a taste of what I’m talking about. And hopefully be a bit of a remedy for you

Happy 69th birthday to you, Nigel (if you're reading)

<shuffles back to bed>

Lines up soothing tisanes and candles for RZW (hoping you can still smell them).

A couple of my pals have been down with Covid. Worst ever they said, having had it a few times before-both been very poorly for 3 weeks and only just coming round. Hoping it’s not that RZW and you are ok.
And a speedy recovery to you @AgathaMystery. Laughing at the clothes conudrum. My dd2 is 6 ft but had a massive growth spurt from one summer to the next. Her clothes were suddenly largely indecent!
Sorry to hear of the passing of your amazing sounding friend Bimbles.

another Beautiful few days on the farm. Lots of Easter visitors coming for their egg hunts and tractor rides, and lamb feeding. I helped deliver these two lambs on Monday. And the orchard looks and smells glorious!

Girls can we just write 2025 off? All we’ve done is get ill. I know we’ve got new jobs too but there has been a lot of sickness and I’m bored of myself now.

things I have done with morphine:

1. purchased Joseph & the Amazing technicolour Dreamcoat tickets
2. agreed to a holiday
3. Ordered 24 worktop samples
4. taught DD how to use Vinted
5. Negotiated a pay increase for DH possible new contract

it’s cold today but at 4pm the sun came out which was a bonus.

Votes for morphine all round if it makes us that productive @AgathaMystery Have you crafted your gallstones into amazing earrings?

I bought some strange things whilst on chemo steroids but did not go to the extent of a friend’s husband, who bought an amazing camper van!

loving the photos @piscofrisco heavenly.

I'm feeling I missed out here - I didn't do any chemo shopping! Do you think I could do some now, even though my chemo was 2 years ago?

Sending love to those who are poorly. Look after yourselves.

I'm gearing up for 2 separate antiques fairs over the Easter week end, which means acquiring new stock. So tomorrow will be spent at auction. It isn't the same now everything is online. It's very convenient, but no atmosphere!

Also now fancying some morphine if it helps me kick ass like that @AgathaMystery

🙋‍♀️ morphine please! I have been spectacularly unproductive this week, am a lazy toad.
Sorry about your friend @Bimblesalong and you being poorly @RainbowZebraWarrior and everybody else who is not well. We are TOUCH WOOD all ok here apart from hayfever (me) and revision (2/3) and boredom (1/3, wants her sisters to stop revising and take her shopping!) and having to tell people they don't have jobs in the reorganisation AGAIN (DH).
He has decided not to apply for one himself but to retire in November. Big changes ahead for us, although he's been winding down gradually for a couple of years since having 8 months signed off with stress.
Haven't bought anything especially unusual recently. A gingko tree and a book about mahjong 😂
Love the lambs, @piscofrisco

Extra stock shopping sounds good @Confusedmeanderings I miss a good house / estate sale.

Touching wood @SheherazadesSeasonalNonsense Exciting times ahead for your family. I’m just drawing down my little pension although will work gently at part time once I get back to it. I’ve spoken to a couple of prospective clients this week and am gradually sorting out the office again.

How’re you doing RZW? I hope dd is ok and has enough time to rest before school starts again.

We had a lovely visit out to Erdigg (NT) today. They have an amazing collection of apple trees, all pruned, espaliered, etc. The blossom is at various stages and very pretty. The apple festival in autumn should be wonderful.

Erdigg looks lovely! We like the apple festival at a local nature reserve and orchard to us September time, we go every year and they do these amazing homemade cakes and we buy apples to take home to make crumble and they also have home brewed cider which knocks your socks off 😂

The apple trees look lovely @Bimblesalong .

I was possessed by auction madness and I am now the proud owner of a 19th century policeman's truncheon!

And that’s exactly the sort of thing that makes me adore this thread

Morning all. Still in the land of the living here, but it's been a rough few days. Covid always exacerbates my other issues. Bloody inflammation!

Lovely apple blossom and snake head fritillary @Bimblesalong I'm so excited about the blossom on my fruit trees this year, as what's starting to pop out is the most I've ever seen!

The weather is due to be 20 degrees here today which I can barely get my head around. It was similar yesterday, and I managed to sit out for 5 minutes although I had two jumpers on with fleecy pyjamas and nordic socks! All very discombobulating.

Love the randomness of the 19th C truncheon @Confusedmeanderings I take it you still get to go along to viewing days even if the auctions are all online? I think our main auction house here still do the auctions in house as well as online.

Right, I'd better go and ring school to confirm that DD won't be in again. At least it's the last day of term and I can relax on that score for two weeks now.

Just plonking this here in case anyone is interested. Woodland Trust has a tree sale on and you can get some great packs of saplings including fruit and nut varieties. They also have some lovely gifts and a clearance section.

All my time and money is spent on plants during April and May. That said, I've also just (eventually) bought a Christmas planner from Vinted for £1. Well worth a quid. Nowhere near worth the £20 RRP though.

shop.woodlandtrust.org.uk/fruit-and-nut-mix

Thanks for the link @RainbowZebraWarrior , DH is now engrossed in the site deciding what to buy! You can attend both the viewings and the auction in person but our most regularly used auction house is 45 miles away so it's more convenient to handle everything on line and just go up to collect what you've bought at the end. I was not the only one suffering from auction madness - DH bought an art deco electric fire 🤣 It does scream art deco and it is a lovely shade of green. He has plans to turn It into lighting . I'll post some pics tomorrow.

Thankyou for the link-that’s a lovely bit of perusing for me later.
it’s been so hot today that I’ve had my very milk bottle coloured legs in shorts scaring all the public coming for their lamb feeding and tractor rides. Currently sitting in the garden with the dogs, the masters golf on the radio and a very cold blood orange cider on the go. Weather set to turn from tomorrow really here, and definitely next week so soaking jt up before it does. A Happy Friday to all!

Really great day yesterday! After 4 months away for work DP is finally back home! Can’t quite believe he’s here tbh. Had a lovely pub lunch in the most sheltered of pub gardens it could have been the height of summer.

Saw a beautiful apple blossom. Think blossom is doing well here this year because it usually tentatively comes out and before it comes into full bloom a storm blows all the petals away.

Morning all.

Glad to hear your DH is home @CrushingOnRubies Foir months is a long time to be away. Pub lunch sounds fab. Yesterday was beautiful.

I'm just trying to make the most of the sun before the weather turns so I'm sitting in the garden listening to the birds. I'm just contemplating a cup of tea, but everything tastes disgusting. My blossom isn't out in full yet, but it's going to be a great year for fruit by the looks of it. I'm going to use this pic of my pear blossom as a screensaver as it makes me very happy.

Also, I'm on neither morphine nor steroids, but I am away with the fairies. I've just told DD that if we are feeling up to it, we must bury the russet tree today (couldn't for the life of me think of the word plant) and I've also informed her that I have a parcel to pick up from the 'cabins' (in post lockers!)

I'd like my brain back, please, covid!

How lovely to have your DH back @CrushingOnRubies ! Four months is definitely a long time!

I know what you mean about wanting your brain back @RainbowZebraWarrior - I spent this morning getting more and more agitated looking for my glasses. I was wearing them 🤣

Pictures of our impulsive purchases at auction - my truncheon and DH's fire. He's going to turn It into lighting I think.

I love seeing your purchases @Confusedmeanderings that art deco fire is a thing of beauty and the colour is fabulous. I still have my old truncheon somewhere. Not quite as old as that one, but still back in the days where us women had to wear skirts and tights!! We had a long pocket down the side of the skirt that the truncheon fitted down and it was a nightmare getting the bugger out. God that makes me feel very old. My passing put parade would have been in 1989. We didn't use the wooden truncheon much past that point. Plus, some folk would always be happy to whip it out of your hand and use it as a weapon. Thankfully, it never happened to me.

I need to go and pick up a parcel from said cabin / locker. I really don't much feel like it. At least it's all outdoors.