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!

'Nooks and Dahlias' sounds like it would be a great title for a book. I'd envisage it to be about gardening and home decor with a bit of crafting and knitting.

I've been going book mad as I keep seeing titles that intrigue me. There's a set of books dedicated to the seasons (obviously one for each) edited by Melissa Harrison and I'm very intrigued by the Autumn and Winter ones. I think perhaps when we start our annual meander into Nigel-ness later this week, that may give me the comfort I'm craving.

So glad you found some comfort from this thread during what I'm sure was an awful time. I must say that all of the photographs of your home always look so homely and welcoming, it's clearly a gift xx

You know the phrase 'you don't know what you've got until it's gone?' Well that's how I feel about your photographs @IngenTing, although it's kind of the other way around 'I didn't know how much I missed them until they were back again'. Just have such a peaceful feeling about them xx

This box of foraged mushrooms is Nigelesque I think. Except they were a gift from farmer relative who actually foraged them.

I have some cream and calvolo nero in the fridge so will fashion them into something stroganoff like tomorrow.

That's one impressive box of shrooms @HannahDefoesSpringFling My Dad keeps coming home with arm fulls every time he takes the dog out for a walk on the adjacent farmland. It's been an amazing autumn so far for them.

Argh! I'm so envious of your mushrooms @HannahDefoesSpringFling! We've had a really bad season for them. Only a few handfuls. Even the colours haven't been right. Usually we get a cluster of the bright red fly amanita by the cabin, this year they have been brown and died quickly. The kantarell's we have found have all been very pale as well.

It's been an incredible season for berries though! This season was the first time we found enough Arctic raspberry for jam. It makes me wonder if we're in for a really hard winter.

@LovesAutumnLeaves Thank you for the lovely comments about my photographs, that really made me smile at the end of a l9ng and particularly shitty day.

Gosh I love autumn. I do drive DD a bit mad though as I'm always taking pictures. When I'm driving, she gets the job of winding down the window and taking pics so here's our sunrise from the journey to school this morning.

No wildlife pics as of yet. Need to invest in a telephoto lens.

Such interesting posts and beautiful photos on this thread. - a real treat to check in. Enjoying the lovely autumn colours here and looking forward to visiting Dd today and seeing the countryside further south.

Went to the local cathedral today to see this instillation of Mars. It is travelling far and wide so if it is near you recommend checking it out.

That looks amazing! I felt I'd seen something similar in recent years at Durham, but it doesn't seem to have been there, so I must be thinking of something else.

So cold here. Like properly, winter cold. Stove and heating are both on and candles are lit. Hope everyone who is under a weather warning in the next day or two doesn't suffer too badly.

I feel like I need to get organised regarding lifting and storing the Dahlias, but they are still flowering so I'm reluctant right now. My problem is that I will blink and it will be November and 0 degrees.

Tonight's candle of choice is Fireside Tales.

Lovely looking candle @RainbowZebraWarrior . We have embers on the go here, next to a large jug of dahlias. I have a further load of dahlias in my office as they were really drooping after the heavy rain earlier this week - it’s lovely to look at them whilst I work. I expect this week’s storm will make some decisions for us, but I’m also loathe to dig them up whilst the flowers are so lovely. Must keep an eye out for frost …. I’ll also need space to dry them and our area in the garage is taken up with boxfuls of stuff from the kitchen.

Today we had sun and I had a lovely walk to make the most of the autumn colour. The trees truly are lovely.

This week, four long pathways across the fields which had been fenced off by the land over during the pandemic were reopened. We had taken our case to parliament and won. I’m looking forward to putting some sturdy boots on and saying hello again to some old oaks.

The same artist did Gaia/ the earth 2 years ago and the moon at some point too. So maybe of those you are thinking of?

feel a sense of battering down the hatches with the incoming storm

That would be it. I knew I felt some sense of deja vu.

@AgathaMystery and @CrushingOnRubies we have school workers here, sympathies. They claim it's half term, but it seems to be more work really hard to catch up week, for some of the worst of what hasn't been managed.
@HannahDefoesSpringFling Confused whippet is gorgeous, good luck with the kitchen, and also @Bimblesalong. This thread has some amazing properties, and really glad it's magic has been here when needed. Well done on you all getting those rights of way reopened, and glad you're getting reunited with the oaks. @RainbowZebraWarrior there must be times when keeping it all together gets difficult, but keeping this thread it's a lovely thing you do, and thank you for the comment about photos, it certainly feels like a production line for winter, here.

The way we live doesn't really allow for it to be different, but it's nice that it's part of something appreciated for more than just ensuring all are fed.
@LillianGish isn't it just heading that way. I bottled our quinces the other day, and thought it was definitely VN.
@IngenTing as always such a pleasure to see the sights you see. But also your mention of Verdansdagen was such a quiet lift here. I'm working with people who have mainly fallen through the net, and are seeking recovery in an era of minimal slashed services. We put on a play. Because of attitudes it becomes an act of bravery for many. and is quite a balancing act. We're trying to convince the powers that be, that the provision of natural spaces and window boxes makes a difference to the m/h of individuals and communities. They know, but see it more as a 'nice to have.' Hearing it going on in your part of the world, was both heartening, and useful. Echoing @LovesAutumnLeaves at often not realizing what's missing until it appears.
We're only just starting to get mushrooms in many of the spots we're a bit reliant on. It's a mast year - a huge uptick in berries, nuts, acorns and fruit, but seems to be lowered variety of fungi for this time of year here. But, I don't have as much work allowing me to access as many places as usual, so not definitive. The mast year berries for us, only predicts a hard winter if everything carries on producing at this rate later in the season. (But our robins don't agree and are eating for Armageddon later!) We have domestic raspberries, blueberries, and tomatoes in poly greenhouses, still cropping really late here and a fair amount in flower still.
@Seasidebubbles I hope you get to see autumn in all it's glory.
Mobile later today, and really hoping to catch many miles of it.

Carrot cakes, shrooms and hop frittata, honey fungus, sweet chestnuts before and after.

I’m loving it! First time ever out school has two weeks. Worked three days this week instead of 5 and planning to do the same next week. Quite like my job when there’s no kids and many staff to pester me

Satsuma klaxon! Bought two bags in Sainsburys tonight

Congrats on winning the case @Bimblesalong

Fabulous photos as always @EphemeraleEudemonia I used to live very near Newcastle City centre and had a couple of amazing parks nearby (Heaton Park and Jesmond Dene for anyone with NE England connections) I knew where all the sweet chestnut trees were. I've never found any near where I live now. Maybe I should plant my own?

Nigel has posted some lovely things on Instagram in the past few days. Much Autumn / winter deliciousness I feel he's almost gearing up for the Christmas Chronicles just as we are.

I also meant to say the other day that Sainsburys have got satsumas in and they are only £1.35 a net. Delicious!

Link to the new thread will be posted here later this morning.

As promised, here is the lik to this year's readalong thread:

https://www.mumsnet.com/talk/christmas/5432484-the-nigel-slater-christmas-chronicles-readalong-2025

I can’t believe it! All my moaning about my appalling dahlias this year (11 plants, one flower to date) but I just glanced out of the back door and thought what’s that? Went to investigate and look! Three in bloom. And two more with buds on!
I mean, still not amazing and I’m not prepared to forgive Sarah Raven yet, but I’m delighted to see them

I’m a bit confused about which thread to use… this one the poncetastic Christmas thread even though I didn’t want to talk about Christmas ponceness just autumnal loveliness or the Nigel thread.

anyway choosing this thread… if it is the wrong one apologies.

so yesterday went to an actual butcher for last night’s steak as opposed to the supermarket. And the extra £1.50 was worth it. Will definitely be frequenting more often.

after a blowy walk on the beach just been to the local pumpkin patch for a pumpkin. So will be carving that at some point.

I'm still here 😊

Ooh. What type of steak did you get? I'm after some hanger steak / onglet and I think I might have to down to the butchers next week as I haven't had a decent steak in ages.

I'm having one of those days where i can't decide what to cook for dinner. I've cooked a chicken joint and I usually either have it as some kind of dinner, or throw the cooked chicken into the slow cooker with other ingredients to make a curry. I just keep looking at the chicken then walking away!

Your dahlias (finally) look fabulous @SheherazadesSpringNonsense Mine are still flowering, but the wind is crazy here so the pots are on their sides on the lawn.

@RainbowZebraWarriori had a rump steak.

@SheherazadesSpringNonsenseyour daliahs look lovely

spent an hour this after noon sprucing the spare room. It’s the warmest room in the house so thinking of making it in to a snug of some sort. Also parents want to stay in it for a night soon so needs a sort out for then

I've just had my waitrose order delivered and they didn't have any of the free magazines left, so they gave me this instead (free of charge!) Looking forward to reading it as I'd never have paid seven quid for it

Very chilly here tonight and we are due a low of 3 degrees, so it seems a lot like winter. With the clocks going back tonight, I think we are really going to feel that shift. It seems so sudden this year for some reason.

That’s a bargain. Love when things like that happen. Enjoy I’d be making a right event of it.