The Nigel Slater Christmas Chronicles Readalong 2025

[RainbowZebraWarrior]

Hello all, it's that time of year again!

For anyone who has not already had the pleasure, the annual Nigel Slater Christmas Chronicles read along is a real time annual MN tradition.

The Christmas Chronicles (Notes, stories and 100 essential recipes for midwinter) book begins on 1st November, however there are 25 pages of Introduction. That's why I start the thread one now; to allow time to prepare and fully appreciate Nigel in All His Splendour come 1st November.

Some regulars to the thread already have the book. For anyone new, it's a challenge to see of you can pick up a bargain. Vinted has come up trumps in the past, as has ebay. A rare and precious charity shop find is always a bonus. Don't forget, you can also listen along to Nigel's dulcet tones via Audible.

I shall post daily and we can share our thoughts and feelings on the days recipes, sentiments and indeed Dear Nigel himself. Observations of nature and the seasons are also very welcome.

So welcome to old friends and new, and don't forget that reading by candle light is particularly enjoyable. Cire Trudon may be one of Nige's candles of choice, but it's somewhat pricey. We don't discriminate against other less expensive brands - even if they are NVN (Not Very Nigel)

Pull up a chair, light a candle, grab a cosy blanket and join in!

Percy 🥲 god bless him.

I love seeing bare trees against a blue sky.😊

I couldn’t sleep last night so I did some Christmas booking - Chelsea Christmas festival and a matinee of The Moustrap for the DSS’s annual festive London day that we do, and The Wolseley for DD’s 1 and 2 and Dh and I’s traditional blow out London day, which we do on the 27th each year. (It’s Dh’s and I’s Christmas present to each other plus a celebration of dd1 and Dh’s Boxing Day birthdays). We take it in turns with the girls to choose the fancy restaurant-last year they chose Ivy Asia which was fun-this year is my turn so I’m going for a more stately and dare I say more Nigelly vibe).

I really need to start shopping for presents-people with only 4 things left to buy are making me panic 😬😁

JL sell them, but I've noticed that Amazon have it with a couple of quid off at the moment.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Lily-Flame-Cut-Grass-Green/dp/B0018RGJQ8?source=ps-sl-shoppingads-lpcontext&ref_=fplfs&psc=1&smid=A25O7DRQHXBI44

Oh smashing! Thankyou!

if I remember correctly the gherkin candle smelled of green fruit / fresh grass type of thing. Don’t want to open it now or I will never get that paper cap back on nicely. I just remember the candle smelling nice enough 😊

I have splurged on Chase and Wonder candle this year, should be delivered any time this week. Very excited about it. Was considering Trudon Carmelite, but Chase and Wonder painted ceramic container won. Once I finish it, I will have to come here for advice how to make my own candle in it. It will be a veeeery long time until I can afford another order with them as lovely as they are.

One of my favourites candles is a coffee and coconut one. It’s called Barista by Clean Slate, an Irish brand. I’ve only smelled it in the shop unfortunately, as one of the family can’t cope with the smell of coconut, so not sure if it would live up to expectations. It smells gorgeous to me though! Maybe for the kitchen.

That sounds right up my street. My 'Toasted Crumpet' candle has just arrived. Turns out that's the name of the company that makes the candles on behalf of the National Trust. The fragrance is actually Winter Noir which is a dead ringer for the WC winter candle with the added bonus that it doesn't set my asthma off. I'm well impressed. There's also a packet of seeds in the box! I'll be tracking down more of these.

I'm also well impressed with all your Christmas bookings @piscofrisco We do nowt any more as DD just can't cope. Tbh, it's great as there's no pressure and I've accepted that a lot of what we used to do was because I felt like we 'had to'

I bought some garlic pickle in the National Trust shop- it was unbelievably good. I need a recipe- all I’ve found has been more pickled and less jammy. Does anyone have any suggestions? I need to make gallons of the stuff, it’s so good.

The orange and cedar candles smelled gorgeous so I’ll be checking out that company, see if I can find them. It was a bit steep in the NT shop.

and @RainbowZebraWarrior i don’t understand the tree image. It’s stunning, but how has the red happened? Sorry if I’m being dim!

Oh @RainbowZebraWarrior I just went down a superb rabbit hole trying to find your Buttered Crumpet candle and found this!!

https://holly.co/shop/product/crumpet-and-butter-candle/58447e3f-1fb8-480f-9ccf-46c84b71be99?srsltid=AfmBOoppFBMX7GkUpFz0WH62q4hJoFPoXN4hTCewQtZgvnKsqyhptCTc

There's some really gorgeous looking ones - I have my eye on the Christmas orange (which feels VN) and the sausage roll (NVN but it appeals to me!) ✌

@WhoAteMyBiscuit oh good heavens that site is amazing! A crumpet candle! RIP my wages.

That sounds really nice. I had a Dark Roast Coffee one from the Yorkshire Candle Company a while back, it was great for waking me up without actually drinking coffee (can't do caffeine)!

Must resist clicking on any links onto candles... but I do have a real life shopping trip to York later in the week, where the Christmas market will be open and I'm planning to stock up on candles and incense.

Today's been full of work here, with a soggy walk at lunchtime. I'm actually craving some properly cold, crisp weather now.

@piscofrisco your London trips sound fabulous! I must book some things to do - I'm singing and playing at a few festive events locally, but it would also be nice to sit back and be entertained 😄

I think we need 2 pinned lists book and candle reccomendations 😃

@PrizedPickledPopcorn great pics. Is that the Elizabethan garden at Kenilworth castle in the last one? My childhood stomping ground!

Good spot, @Bimblesalong !
Driving home today we started listening to Dark Is Rising from BBC Sounds, and will probably finish it driving to MiL’s this weekend, so thank you whoever recommended that! It’s strangely familiar. Either I’ve read it before, or heard snippets of it. Sadly my brain is woollier than a merino, so no way of tracking down the memory. Sad times.

I'm not sure I'll try making my own mincemeat again - I've done it a couple of times but it was SO greasy and lardy from the suet! And I'm the only person in the house who'll eat dried fruit in anything, so all those wonderful Christmas treats - the cake, pudding, mince pies, Nigel's fig tart - I'm the only one who eats them, so sometimes I don't bother, and other times I have too much of a good thing!

I'm tempted though, it's a comforting thing to smell in the kitchen. I can never find quinces. Waitrose used to be good for them but they seem to have swerved off more esoteric UK produce recently - this year, despite the amazing nuts everywhere, they didn't have any cobnuts in our local store (I'm fairly sure I can hear that being said in Nigel's voice) and you can't get russet apples either. Local farmer's markets sometimes do quinces but I think I've missed the boat this year! I had ONE quince this autumn, and I pinched it as a windfall from beneath a tree in the Oxford Botanic Gardens! Don't tell.

I'm still full of cold, so eating rubbish and not moving enough.
Managed to take the children to see the big bonfire locally, followed by a fabulous moonrise.

Tomorrow, my aim is to finish writing my Christmas lists, and see if I can manage a gentle stroll through the woods.

I only have 17 working days until Christmas...

I've been catching up with the thread in dribs and drabs thank you for sharing the story about Percy I've kept thinking about and also what a lovely thoughtful Mum to have sent you round with the food.

@Brightermornings I absolutely agree about the book and candle list but suggest we also have podcasts - there were some good recommendations I need to scroll back through and find.

@WeMeetInFairIthilien hope you feel better soon and make it out for a nice woodland walk your bonfire pics are fab!

Nigel is definitely making me keener to get out of bed in these dark cold mornings. A chapter of CC with a coffee and this thread truly is the best start to the day!

I've also started the dark is rising just a few pages in so far but love that it is set in Cornwall the first chapter opens at St Austell station which is about 40 minutes away!

11 November

Martinmas, a ham dinner and a citrus cake

For centuries this has been a feast day. The date marked the end of the agricultural year, the harvest was well and truly in, the livestock were ready for slaughter, wine was ready for drinking. It is officially the beginning of winter. In medieval times, such an important feast was celebrated by eating a goose for those who could afford it, duck or chicken for those who couldn't.

"Nigel is definitely making me keener to get out of bed in these dark cold mornings. A chapter of CC with a coffee and this thread truly is the best start to the day!"

It helps me massively through the dark days of December when it's like, -4 degrees and you don't want to get up!

@PrizedPickledPopcorn Yes I've just realised that my photo hasn't posted well and the image is blurred. It's covered in red crocheted squares and poppies.

I saw a candle on Vinted a bit like that crumpet one but it was a pile of buttered toast with an egg on top! Didn't quite have the same 'cosiness' factor.

Second attempt at a tree image

The egg on toast candle seems to have disappeared, so I offer you instead.... Raspberries on toast!

Wow. Just wow, about the candles and the tree! I love the idea of dressing the tree for remembrance.

The first in the Dark is Rising series (Over Sea, Over Stone) is more of a summer read. For a winter read, it's better to go straight into The Dark is Rising itself. Different character and standalone plots - they only come together later in the series. My favourite books as a child and I can still quote the poems.

Thanks to this thread, I read The Children of Green Knowe last night. Very atmospheric and ethereal. It may have spooked me slightly (wuss).

Yeah, I started with the Dark Is Rising, and I think you can read that one and Over Sea Under Stone, in any order. Think you need to have read those two before The Greenwich though, from memory.

I started reading the Boggart (also by SC) with my children on Sunday night. I didn't think I had read it, but I had, and unfortunately was too far into the story before I remembered (a) that I have read it; and (b) that it is the saddest start to any book I have ever read.

We got through it, but they (and I!) may be scarred for life.

The Martinmas chapter prompts my annual reminiscence about our four years in Berlin when the kids were small. It is is a huge celebration there (rather as bonfire night is for us) and children parade with their lanterns (handmade at school and with real candles inside) singing traditional German songs. If you are lucky (and we always were) there would be a man on a horse playing the part of St Martin who would dismount and rip his cloak in half to give to the poor traveller who turns out to be be Christ. It is a spine tinglingly lovely festival - it gets dark so early at this time of year in Berlin, there would be frost on the ground, sometimes even snow, the parade with the children singing is adorable (mine can still remember the words to those songs) and then everyone gathered around a crackling bonfire at the end with the smell of mulled wine in the air and the obligatory sausages. Frost, fire and candles - ultimate Nigel now I come to think of it!