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!

Chance or Aurora this evening in more Northern parts of the UK. Already starting to show on the Shetland Burrafirth camera for anyone interested

Just a reminder that M&S Christmas food to order slots are open to book from this morning.

Just booked my Ocado Christmas delivery (I know Nigel likes to potter around the independent lovelies picking up an exquisite lump of cheese and a delightful pomegranate but I always think it is nice to channel Margot Leadbetter and have Christmas arrive in a van 😂), spot reserved with a rather expensive bottle of champagne which I must remember to remove in a month or two.
I’m in Bath today moving DD1 back to uni. She has massively fallen on her feet this year with a beautiful Georgian flat that doesn’t feel at all studenty (my bank balance is less thrilled but I’ll be happy to visit). It is sunny and cold and gorgeous this morning. Definitely autumn

I've booked my M&S collection slot and will be booking Waitrose tomorrow AM. I also prefer most of my groceries to turn up in a van @SheherazadesSpringNonsense I don't mind picking up the odd artisan hand crimped turkey and stuffing pasty when I see one, but gone are the days of me hauling spuds and turkeys home with a festive wreath balanced on my head at 3pm on a Christmas Eve.

I've just been scrumping for apples and have a variety of lovely red ones (look similar to Gala) and some Crab apples. The window cleaner whizzed past me on his bike and shouted out "making apple pies again Rainbow?" to which I replied "Aye, owt for nowt!" I actually don't know exactly what I'm going to do with them although I have a few different ideas.

Lovely sunny Autumn day here too, although it was bitter cold again this morn. Must get on with some felting now, but I can feel exciting festive ideas bubbling under the surface, apong with the anticipation of the commencement of Nigel-ness in the near future.

Thanks to you all I was inspired to book my Christmas turkey and trimmings. Arriving on 23rd December. I feel so organised and smug.

Weather here is gorgeous, crisp and autumnal.

@SheherazadesSpringNonsense Love the idea of Christmas arriving in a van. 😋I'd like mine to arrive in a Fortnum and Masons one please.

@RainbowZebraWarrior We've finally caught up weather wise. Cold snap lots of sunshine and what was just a few leaves on the ground has become a steady flow.That's a happy looking bottle.

@PandoraSocks Enjoy. 🙂

Not actually in a position for Christmas to come in a van but can dream, so will practice wreath balancing as a required skill. 😂My nod to being ready for Christmas is I'm in the process of trying to invisibly repair a glass Christmas tree bird with the top of it's head knocked off. I was given it after I said I was sure i could give it a second life...

I can’t even get my head around impending festivities until we have the kitchen sorted. I’m in awe of the organisation!

We are away overnight for annual getting older day and this delightful sight is round the corner from our hotel.

Hi everyone, I have been missing from the thread in the last few weeks. The school year started with a bang and it's been absolutely full on for everyone. My older one started secondary school, I started a 3-year degree alongside my full time job, our new house still needs a lot of work and we've all been feeling a bit overwhelmed with getting used to so much change and adjusting all of our routines. Things feel a bit more peaceful and manageable now but overall lots of chaos, emotions and stress since the beginning of September. I have been reading your posts but did not have the energy to write until now.

On a more positive note, I bought a few candles based on recommendations here and I'm absolutely loving the sweet pea fragrance from St Eval. I got a couple of more but this one is hands down my favourite and I have been burning it every night. There is something very satisfying in watching the wax burn off and go down without creating a tunnel. I also bought a Neom diffuser but I'm finding it a bit strong to use in our living room, the scents get overwhelming after a bit. Loving the light though.

Anyone has any recommendations for bedding? We got our new bed (finally!) and I need everything new since it's bigger than what we've had before. I would love white, crisp, hotel style bed sheets. Someone mentioned linen bedding...any experience with that? I'm tempted but I've never had linen bedding so I'm not sure.

Love seeing everyone's photos of your produce and embroidery. So much talent here! I hope you all have a lovely day and I'm hoping I'll be a bit more regular now things have settled down a bit.

Ooh have a lovely time Bimbles. Sorry, does that mean its your birthday? (I struggle with cryptic clues that probably aren't at all cryptic - literal and all) if so, Happy Birthday!

Welcome back @Piletka I completely identify with the feelings of overwhelm, it’s been horribly chaotic and out of routine here too for a few months. But this week DD1 has gone back to uni and DD2 has started a job. DD3 is settled back at school. Just need to sort myself out as I’ve had no work for 3 weeks (I’m a freelancer and it always slides a bit over the summer but this is extreme) and DH is about to retire and on ‘gardening leave’ so effectively already finished, which is going to be a big change for us all 😱😱 Good luck with your degree, that is massive!
I’ve been not at all Nige and purchased a massive 7/wick scented candle from Costco 😂😂 I’m usually a bit snobby about candles and artificial fragrances (not as snobby as Nigel, but more than many) but I actually really love it. I haven’t even lit it yet and my hall smells lovely. I’d be a bit embarrassed if any of you popped round though, would have to hide it in a cupboard 😂

Thankyou @RainbowZebraWarrior it was my birthday yesterday 😀

@SheherazadesSpringNonsense I feel your pain. DH has just retired but is discussing freelance. I’m working part time although quite a bit! I’ve loved travelling over the last few months but am looking forward to routine and cocooning in the next few months.

Gosh @Piletka that sounds A Lot. Re the bedding, I love white company and get mine in the sales.

It’s a beautiful day here with a tinge of woodsmoke (like the Gabriel candle) on the air.

Happy birthday for yesterday @Bimblesalong - I can confirm you had the best of the Paris weather, it is positively chilly now.
I've been racking my brains to see if Nigel has anything to say about bedding @Piletka, the only reference I can think of is in ATF where he talks about crisp white cotton sheets in a chapter entitled 'The best sleep'. Personally, I'm not a fan of linen as I find it too coarse and I prefer something smoother. I love Christy percale bedding which manages to be crisp and smooth at the same time. You can sometimes find it in TK Max so I always have look when I'm over visiting my mum.

That does sound a lot @Piletka Sending gentle hugs and hope you find some calm among the chaos. I'm like @LillianGish in that linen feels too rough and also like Christy percale. I'm lucky to have an out of town factory outlet on the edge of my village and get a lot of my bedding and towels there. Fenwick sales are also good!

I've made 8 jars of chilli jam to use the last of the tomatoes up and some of the chillies. The gardener has just arrived to do some hedge and tree pruning (one of my pear trees goes berserk with too growth and little fruit) now I'm off to Mum's as she had a dizzy spell yesterday and I had to catch her and get some dextrose tablets into her (I know she barely eats) I've had a stern chat about looking after oneself and bring responsible for own health etc as I find it a bit infuriating sometimes, but I'll go and do her dishes and prep some lunch for her etc.

Going to the city centre after school with DD as we want to try and pump the Diptyque sales folk for information about Christmas scents (at least find out when they will be released)

It was a fabulous morning here too. A slight mist and the sun shining through on the dew drenched fields. I passed a gorgeous gate open onto farmland framed by trees and the light was so gorgeous I wanted to jump out of the car and take a photo. I'll take a walk on Saturday morning if the weather is good with a view to some fresh air and nature photography.

A happy, sunny day to all.

I poppies into TK Maxx today to have a look at the bedding and they had limited options for the sizes I needed, but I’ll keep checking. I have had some great finds in prior years so that was a good shout whoever mentioned in.

i did however come across a bunch of St Evan candles at great prices. Worth checking your local ones. Everything was £4.99-£5.99. This is what I got - the tea lights are simply divine. And just the right size for when you are not burning a candle for hours. They had other options too but these are the ones that I liked the smell of.

Thank you so much for the heads up. As I said before, I'm heading into our city centre at teatime and I knew there was somewhere I wanted to look!

Great, enjoy your shopping trip! TK Maxx always have an amazing selection of candles...not sure how Nigel they are but I really like them!
P.S. Apologies for all the typos in my previous post. I was rushing and on my phone!

Happy birthday, @Bimblesalong

I absolutely love TK Maxx and used to live very close to the city and was in there every weekend. I haven't been in one now since before the Pamdemic, so I fear I may get a little over excitable!

Gosh it's such a beautiful afternoon. I shall mourn autumn days like this where I come home with a pocket full of conkers every day. I do have our Nigel days to look forward to, though!

There was an awful mishap last night at the main farm where we keep our bees. The farmer (who was working until midnight) was moving the hay bales next to the cow sheds where we have most of our hives. He piled them too high and they fell backwards and have smashed our beehives. These are the black pastic wrapped bales that eeigh half a tonne. The farmer rang my Dad at midnight as he was so upset and my Dad surveyed some of the damage and repaired some this morning and has gone back again to see what else he can do. I'm hoping that the damage isn't too extensive so keep fingers crossed please all as we had 25 of our hives there.

@RainbowZebraWarrior oh noo, that's awful. Crossing all fingers for you!

@RainbowZebraWarrior no, I’m so sorry, hoping for better news for those beautiful bees.

Oh no, @RainbowZebraWarrior, poor bees, that sounds terrible. Hope it’s not as bad as you fear.

@@Piletka thank you for the St Eval at TK Maxx tip! I whizzed over to our out of town store after dinner and picked up three lovely tins: Bergamot and Nettle; Thyme and Mint; and Sea Salt. I was tempted to buy two of each as they were such good value, but limited myself to one per scent #restrained

Sorry to hear about the hives. I hope some are salvageable.

@LemonVerbenaGeranium glad you were able to find them too! This really is some serious restraint. I wasn’t able to resists and spent more than I should have 😅

Fingers crossed for your hives 🤞🤞🤞