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!

Thank you for the welcome 🤗 That book looks gorgeous 😍

@RainbowZebraWarriorglad you had a nice time in Amsterdam.

currently in Brittany. Weather is rather overcast. But happy as that means we can explore as opposed to baking on the beach. Wine bread and cheese is all I need in France tbh

Any other springwatch fans here? That feels vaguely Nigel-esque, another very soothing watch

Massive Springwatch fan here (and also fellow Autistic like Chris Packham, so can recommend his book 'Fingers in the sparkle jar')

I'm such a nerd that while I was away I was constantly spying on my nature cams and saw a newt dashing down the path of my back garden.

oh thanks for that - they've got it at my local library so I'll pick it up next time I'm in

Happy National Biscuit Day, folks! What's your favourite? I've just been updating my Christmas list and journal (I know, but I start in June) and it's prompted me to put M&S Spiced biscuits in the journal for early September time. I seem to remember that's when they appear, anyway. They are the most delicious biscuits ever and I only have one pack left in the cupboard, so I'm trying to make them last. I also have an unopened tin of Fika that I might dig out.

Off to B&Q now as I've heard on the grapevine that they are selling half price Black Lace Elderberry.

I've had "A thousand feasts" hardback in my Amazon basket for a while. Just ordered as it's half price at £10 😀

Another big Springwatch and Chris Packham fan here and agree @SheherazadesSpringNonsense it is definitely soothing at a time when there is so much chaos in the world. Also I second @RainbowZebraWarrior’s recommendation; ’Fingers in the Sparkle Jar’ is a great read.

I’ve not posted for a while (various elderly relatives unwell plus dealing with young adults - the lot of a middle-aged woman so it seems!) but I do like to pop in every now and then to see what everyone is up to and I do love the photos.

I like Springwatch too but am very rarely at home at that time of evening and it's one of those things best watched live. I'm a big fan of Chris and Megan, we saw them both speak at an environmental rally last year and I agree Fingers in the Sparkle Jar is an excellent read. I've decided to get an outdoor CCTV for wildlife too, we have a ring doorbell so will probably get the solar ring camera and add it to the system, my neighbour was telling me how much they love seeing all the hedgehogs etc on theirs.

I've never seen Spring watch. Are they on iPlayer?

Yes, they are on iplayer and we are only 3 evenings in to a 3 week stint, so you should easily be able to catch up. It's addictive mind. I'm also hoping they will bring back Winterwatch this year too.

Love spring watch. It’s so calming after a busy day

My only problem with Springwatch is the fact that I always love Chris Packham's jackets. I end up googling them for hours and I also covet his Prada bucket hat. I've just caught up with Monday's episode and loved the Irish guy who is recording birdsong. I knew instantly that he was Autistic. I had two Audible credits, so I've downloaded his Nature Boy book and very excited to listen.

@RainbowZebraWarriorthere was a whole documentary about the Irish bird song chap on iplayer. Not sure if it’s still there but well worth a watch if it is

Thanks for this, I'll have a look. I've started following him on Instagram. What he said about cities really resonated with me, having just come back from a very busy city. I just crave peace, solitude and birdsong.

It's not a nature pic but it is me grabbing a moment of calm on a sunny working day.

Love a bit of spring watch but haven’t had the telly on this week as it’s so light outside, so I’ve been in the garden.

Mum is staying and we visited the laburnum arch at Bodnant today - glorious. The rose gardens are also in full flower, a lovely day.

My Sarah Raven 9cm pots arrived today. They are collections of cutting flowers. Whilst in a huge box and well protected, they were pretty thirsty. I’ve given them a drink and popped them in the ground - hopefully they’ll perk up as they’re decidedly droopy.

Not sure about the distance between them - fingers crossed!

The cosmos looks fairly perky @Bimblesalong not sure what else you've got there. My garden has been battered by the wind in recent days. A large branch from a 7ft fuschia shrub has broken off and landed on one of my favourite salvias and broken part of it in half. My cosmos are also being battered, but seem to be mostly coping. I'm getting a bit fed up as the wind is drying out the ground (again) meaning there's so many plants I still haven't managed to get into the soil. It doesn't help that my EDS has flared up so I can't bend at all due to hip and knee pain and muscle spasms. I'm still waiting for a dispatch notice from SR for my 5 x 3 litre Dahlias which were due to be dispatched on the 24th. At least all but one of my 14 tubers are now looking really healthy and bushy, so it's been a successful year for dahlias so far.

The cosmos has fared reasonably well. I’m hoping the rest will look brighter tomorrow after the water has got through to them.

It really has been windy, despite the “moderate” breeze description on the weather.

That’s more than a blimmin nuisance re your flare up. Is there much you can do to ease things?

my order was late by a couple of weeks and from the grumbling on trust pilot, I wonder if they’ve got the staff to keep up with things. All of my dahlias have woken up now, I just need the time to get them into larger pots. Excited to envisage the flowers. … soon!!

Morning all and happy Sunday to you. Hope the sun is shining wherever you are. It's sunny here, but the forecast is thundershowers later.

@Bimblesalong there's nothing I can do but rest when I have a flare up. My usual codeine / paracetamol / ibuprofen combo doesn't work at all and I can't take anything else due to various contraindications and other health issues. One of the main problems is that I need both hips replaced, but I'm trying to put off till next year when DD might be a bit more independent otherwise recovery and not being able to drive for a while is going to have a massive impact on us. Anyway, I've spent a couple of days resting, and I'm feeling slightly better, so off for a hobble round our usual Sunday market later this morning.

I see yesterday's coronal mass ejection hit earth an hour or two ago. This is the big one, and already the solar wind is sky high (pardon the pun) I'd love to think it will bring some Aurora, even though we have barely dark skies at this time of year.

I’m waiting to hear back from SR regarding a refund for my latest order - arrived this week having seemingly been kicked around the depot a few times on the way 😭 if I don’t get a reply tomorrow I will bite the bullet and ring them. I wonder if they have expanded too fast to keep up

Ouch, that’s a big op @RainbowZebraWarrior and so hard when you’re juggling such responsibilities. I hope you enjoy your hobble. It’s nothing on the scale you’re dealing with but the hormone surpressant I’m now on to help against recurrence leaves me with awful joint pain. I can’t quite believe how different things were a year ago.

@SheherazadesSpringNonsense I wonder too about the keeping up. Trust pilot was an interesting read.

My dahlias have all woken up and I hope will be a good show. I need to put them in bigger tubs and have the SR dahlia feed to boost them. Spent my gardening spoons getting the wilty plants dealt with yesterday, so hoping for some energy later once I’ve taken mum to the station. Ds1 is doing a late brunch at his house so I don’t need to cook. 😀

Just looked again at the Aurora apps. That’s one mighty flare! I hope we get some sort of clear sky later although I’m early to bed these days.

Yes we are now in the midst of an exteme solar storm. There's been some stunning displays over N America and N Zealand. Wish I had the energy to stay up late tonight too. We have clear skies forecast later till around 11pm 🤞