Year round Nigel Slater discussion thread Part 2

[RainbowZebraWarrior]

Hello, all and welcome to this lovely space for our continued chats.

A bit of background for anyone not familiar with this topic:

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, gardening, appreciation of the weather, and sharing of news and small moments of joy. It's a calm, cosy space for gentle chat and merriment so pull up a deckchair, grab a drink and relax.

A very hearty welcome to friends new and old!

Lovely photo @CrushingOnRubies what a fab day that must have been.

I Adore that bronze set @RainbowZebraWarrior Totally the right choice. I’m waiting on my Sarah raven cutting garden pots and will have to ask my neighbour to pop round to water if the weather is dry whilst we are on a mini break.

You are right about friends in adversity, although it does appear to be a feature of growing into our years. I joined a nice local gym with pool today as there is no way otherwise I’m going to get decently fit again. Chatting to the ladies in the pool, the three of us all shared that we were “one sided wonders” and ended up hugging in the shallow end. I’m so pleased to have a found a place I’ll feel comfortable going to - the local council pool is lovely but full of fiercely racing triathletes and spotty youth. I need a bit more understanding around me as I get used to my changed body.

Oh Bimbles that sounds lovely.

A glorious day here today - some pictures I took on my walk home. I love the bottle brush trees - I called them that from the first time I saw one and was then delighted to find that that is their actual name!

Beautiful photos @noodlezoodle

Pleased to hear that you've found somewhere lovely and that you found a little tribe of fellow 'one sided wonders' @Bimblesalong

It was a year ago tonight that the earth was hit by a huge solar storm, so powerful that the Aurora was seen by much of the planet. It was the most powerful solar storm in over 100 years. There was a weak show here last night despite the presence of an almost full moon. Fingers crossed for more to come (and that closure for you Bimbles)

@RainbowZebraWarrior I was just looking at my photos. What a day that was - the screening that saved my life and those amazing lights.

Dh and I went out for a lovely meal in the city to say “up yer bum” to cancer. It’s great to have tastebuds back. We’re now sitting in the garden looking at the evening light on the wisteria.

"Up yer bum" to cancer indeed @Bimblesalong A phrase I've loved since watching the film Wish you were here in 1987. Enjoy your evening. The evening light is absolutely beautiful. I have a garden full of birdsong ❤️

Woops put a whole post about the thing I was involved with the other day on the old post. One too many ciders I’m afraid

Just seen it and it looked utterly fabulous! Hope you've enjoyed your cider and your weekend ❤️

@RainbowZebraWarriorhad a really enjoyable weekend thanks. And fabulous is the best way to describe it. Your garden looks blooming wonderful love the bistro table.

I have no idea what’s going on with the seasons, but ocado currently has satsumas in stock and they are good ones

There’s some good fruit available at present. I bought a yellow mango from Thailand - buttery soft and flavours like honey. Such a treat!

The little veg plot is supplying our lettuces now - beans and courgettes looking hopeful. My cutting flowers arrive soon from Sarah raven - I hope I have left enough space in the raised bed (I think not!!😬).

There’s never enough space in my raised beds 😂 I just twigged this morning that I will need to move my peppers because I foolishly planted the peas on their sunny side so in a month or so they will be shaded out. I might put them in pots, I think

I can't keep up with DDs mango eating habit at the minute @Bimblesalong She's obsessed and you've described them well. I've been harvesting out lettuces too this week. They are the gift that keeps on giving. We had to stop growing them in our larger polytunnel as they went crazy and there was too much to even give away.

Nice tasting satsumas in May is plain weird, but a bonus I guess @SheherazadesSpringNonsense My mother used to buy 'easy peelers' all year round and they were almost always crap. I might see if Waitrose has any Satsumas.

I had an email from SR saying that my plants will be despatched the day we go to Amsterdam, so I need to try and redirect.

I have been plagued by a carnivorous crow this past few days and it's been quite disturbing as he brings his erm, dinner to my front bird bath and to eat. I have video footage which I was going to send in to Springwatch, but my Dad tells me it's not unusual for corvids to eat Pigeons!

Afternoon all, just checking in, it has been a busy few weeks, I have been supporting DS (final year uni student with SENs) with job applications, an interview (unsuccessful but good experience and we had a nice day out) and his dissertation which is now ready to be submitted. DD starts A level exams tomorrow but is pretty chilled.

@Bimblesalong glad to hear you are getting back to work and that you have found companions to exercise with. I started going to various classes at our local sports centre regularly and am gradually getting to know lots of the other attendees, not making friends as such but having little chats before and after etc, it's really nice, the centre and all the instructors are very inclusive and no one feels left behind regardless of ability.

@RainbowZebraWarrior the aurora from last year popped up on my FB memories, absolutely stunning. We have just cleared a corner of our garden and I am now thinking oooh a bronze patio set would look nice there but it is under a tree and last time we had a bench there we moved it because of all the birdshit. Never mind.

The bronze set is so much nicer than the white @RainbowZebraWarrior , it was a good choice and looks lovely.

I am passing the time sitting outside on a bench looking at my mountain, whilst I wait for my tyres to be finished. Now the snow has gone my studded winter tyres come off and the summer tyres go on.

I saw two beautiful moose on the way to work this morning, eating grass standing next to each other.

DS and DD both had school visits today. DS is moving from grunnskole to ungdoms skole and DD will be moving from barnehage to grunnskole. So a big day today! DS needs to choose his subject specialism. There is only one group he wants to do, so he is a little stressed that it might be oversubscribed. They have 3 options, one is sport, nutrition, food tech health related. Another is charity, volunteering, social sciences. And the last is stage production, lighting, drama, art. He desperately wants sport, always has done and he will definitely succeed in it, but there is a possibility it will be oversubscribed. So we'll have to keep fingers crossed!

I am making big crusty, garlicky chicken B,L,Ts for tea tonight! I can't wait!

Fingers crossed for your DS @IngenTing I hope he gets his choice. Sport / Nutrition is over subscribed here too. I studied Sports Science myself many years ago and it's absolutely exploded with interest now. I'm really pleased with my bronze bistro set. Next on the list are these recycled sari seat pads. BTW, you have my mouth watering with your lovely sounding garlicky chicken crusty BLT's. I'm famished after a long day.

That sounds like a lot going on with both your DC @EndlesslyDecluttering Pleased to hear that your DS has had some good experience with the interview and taken something positive from it.

We've been trying to source a saxophone for DD via school and they have searched the whole county to no avail, so we went to the music shop in the city after school. One alto saxophone has now been purchased. She tried it out in the shop and I'm hoping this is the start of an amazing musical adventure for her. Her music teacher is a sax player so we are arranging some tuition via her. It sure is a lot more portable than my cello was when I was her age. I used to hate lugging it home on my long walk from school.

I'm just in my bedroom and the windows are closed, but the birds are so loud this evening that the Merlin app is still picking them up. It's just heard a long eared owl and I know we have one locally, so I'm going out to the garden to see if I can see it. I also need to start the endless evening watering regime.

I’ve just done my watering @RainbowZebraWarrior! We actually had some rain yesterday which smelt amazing but lasted about 3 minutes so I still had to water.
I found an old tub of raspberry and rosemary sorbet in my freezer, which I made last summer then forgot about (Waitrose magazine, not Nigel, although I think he would probably approve) so we had that after dinner. It felt very fresh and summery and suitable for the end of a beautiful day

Meant to add this pic of the Sari seat pads.

Raspberry and rosemary sorbet sounds amazing @SheherazadesSpringNonsense

Fingers crossed @IngenTing and rather Mel at you having Moose in your line of sight.

thankyou @EndlesslyDecluttering. All the best with helping your son - parenting certainly doesn’t end at 18! All the best for A-levels too, hopefully it’s not too hot for revision and some time off to enjoy the sun can be had.

Loving those cushions @RainbowZebraWarrior

I’ve just had a “fat fighters” soup for supper. Curried red lentil and butternut squash. VN You do it without any oil and blend half of the soup so that there’s a velvety background to the chunkiness. Very nice! I’ve pulled down a few veggie slimming world recipes. The chemo has not been kind to my liver or waistline I even though I’m in bmi, I’m trying to drop a few lbs. It’s proving stubborn so hopefully when I get to the gym/ pool regularly I’ll see some change. This week is about getting over the Covid jab and going to visit mum for what would have been dad’s birthday. All being well, at the weekend we’ll get some ballet and opera.

We had such a lovely day today. It was the first day in ages where we were totally free, with no work or any other commitments, so DH and i decided to have a day out together. We went to Chedworth Roman villa. It was a fair drive away, but it was worth it. It's set in absolutely beautiful countryside, the ruins are amazing, particularly the mosaics, the weather was perfect and it wasn't too crowded. I know lots of you are the other end of the country, but if you are in reach of it, then I really recommend it.

On a side note, has any one else thought the bird song is especially beautiful thifs year?

Also, I meant to show you this amazing tree. It's an American Buckthorn grafted on to a chestnut and you can actually see where they join!

@Confusedmeanderings the roman villa is stunning, and that tree is fabulous. Thanks for sharing pics as it's a bit too far from me. Also yes to the birdsong. Part of my waffle on here last night included how my Merlin app is picking up birdsong from outside even when I'm indoors with the windows shut.

Chilly and cloudy here today. I had to put the heating on briefly this morning. I think I'm going to stick a Casserole in the slow cooker.

Love the villa @Confusedmeanderings- it’s a bit of a trek for me, too, but DD1 is at university in Bath so I wonder if I might manage a visit when I am supposed to be seeing her 😂
I really popped in to ask whether anybody has a current Sarah Raven code at all? I do not need any more plants, and had resolved not to buy from them any more after previous mixed experiences, but there’s a good sale on! (French tarragon is listed if anybody is still trying to find some)
And then I saw @RainbowZebraWarriorsaying it was chilly! It’s well into the 20s here and has been for a week. I’m really loving it - just having a cup of tea in my summerhouse and listening to the goldfinches chattering. Definitely not casserole weather

@Confusedmeanderings oh, how lovely, I wish I had known about that sooner, DS is just down the road at uni and I have had a whole list of places I have wanted to visit while he was there and managed nearly all of them but my time is up now really, next visit is to move him home again. Now wandering if I could pop up for another quick one in between. The museum in Cirencester is brilliant on the Romans.

From experience, codes don't work on sale items at Sarah Raven @SheherazadesSpringNonsense I've also had mixed experience with their products (the Verbena Rigida were crap) but my dahlia tubers are so far coming up trumps.

It's been warm and sunny here for weeks, albeit a good few degrees less than more southern parts of the country. Last night though we had a swirling fog and an Easterly wind came in, so we've only managed a high of 11 or 12 degrees today. It's sunny now though, and there's nowt better than a sunny spring evening.

BTW, Springwatch starts on Monday 27th May, and just in case anyone is interested, Chris Packham's 'Inside our ADHD minds' 2 parter is now on iplayer for anyone who missed it. His previous 2 part programme on Autism was brilliant.

@EndlesslyDecluttering Caerleon is also a good visit. There are the remains of an amphitheatre and the barracks there and, although small, the museum is good. I once took a group of Y3 and Y4 children there. I had them pretending to be Roman soldiers, marching about the arena chanting 'sinister, Dexter, sinister, dexter'. Then they had to stand to attention in the middle of the arena and I 'decimated' them 😭. This consisted of picking out every tenth child and marching them out of the arena to a TA hidden out of sight. The child then made the most bloodcurdling yells as if they were being executed. You probably wouldn't get away with doing it today, but the children loved it so much they were all clamouring to have a go at being the decimated soldier 🤣🤣🤣