The Nigel Slater Christmas Chronicles readalong 2025 - Part 2

[RainbowZebraWarrior]

Hello all, and welcome to Part 2. We Continue our CC journey.

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 began on 1st November.

We continue to read along and comment with the book which is set out in diary form. I will make a post each day (or let you know if there is no entry on a particular day)

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.

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!

Morning, my day off today, hoping to listen to Nigel later, I had a big catch up on Weds of about a week’s worth of listening, all the Christmas market chapters. I made my mini cakes a couple of weeks ago using my adaptation of Nigel’s family cake recipe. Yesterday I bought a new Christmas tree stand, we have been using the same one for 25 years and it’s become increasingly difficult to get the tree standing up properly in it with screw threads going, will get the tree over the weekend I think.

I’ve had a busy week, so have just caught up with the thread (will catch up with CC later). Sending gentle hugs to you @IlovetoKnitandRead and @RainbowZebraWarrior .

I feel I will early adopt ‘had a fall’. It hasn’t happened yet, but it feels like that! It’s the shock of fall and the jarring, which I don’t think impacts the young in the same way. Even if there are no real injuries it’s still a physical impact, iyswim!
I would say a goalkeeper’s roll is definitely the right response, even if there’s a puddle! It dissipates the energy.

My advent candle is well underway, and the (very cheap, unbranded) tea light advent calendar is going brilliantly with my nativity dome.

Serendipitously I made a healthier brownie yesterday, that looks very like Nigel’s spice cake and will certainly be spiced to match next time I make it. It’s very low fat and high fibre. Rather sugary though, I can reduce that next time. And it is absolutely the sticky cake Nigel is fed up with!

We have frost and slippery pavements here, so I will be very cautious venturing out!

We will be much later with our tree. Lights this weekend. Tree perhaps next.

I do love to hear about the various animal adventures. @RainbowZebraWarrior have you tried a sling for MrD? I used to make one from a rigid scarf. Admittedly it was for a toddler, but I’m sure MrD would like it and be far easier to carry 🤣.

I’m somewhat hyper mobile too. Not enough to be getting treatment or anything, just that I’ve realised certain stretches don’t stretch the muscle at all, just the joint. I find it hard to get at the bits that need stretching. The first time a physio mentioned it, I did the exercise he asked for with no effort or stretch required at all. ‘Ah!’, he said.

I've come to terms with the fact I'm likely to read and post 1-2 times per week, rather than put pressure on myself to keep up every day.

Catching up now and sending love and good wishes to @IlovetoKnitandRead , sorry also to hear about your accident @RainbowZebraWarrior - hope you have gotten over the shock and don't have too many lasting effects.

I'm a little reluctant to post pictures of my tree as I'd rather not be identified on here (name changed for this thread, but still...). Have been trying to get some angles that don't show the rest of the room, pictures on walls etc but failing so far.

I had made up my mind to bake this weekend and had set my sights on the orange poppy seed cake. I had completely forgotten about the chocolate spiced cake in today's entry and now I have a dilemma - which to do?

Also, I should note that I'm up to 91 on my christmas tree count! Not long to go.

We also have a teen off for inset day, who's still in bed (not for much longer) dad has a day off work so I am dragging them to the local garden centre for lunch and a quick sweep around the christmas lights, and a maybe we could get this string of pastel ball lights they are so pretty ("they'll never come down dad" - "I know son") - like last year "why are you hammering in permanent cord clips babe?" I refuse to admit to devious plans and usually answer a different question than the one asked "I'm not asking you to do it"

Our lot can't even decide whether they want to chop a tree down and drive it home or carry it from garden centre, which one feels more lumberjack? So until they can decide on that we can't even get a tree! (It's one of the only few jobs that is "boys only" in this house)

1 to 2 times a week is absolutely fine @PricklyBob nobody should feel under pressure to post daily. I have to have respite / spoon breaks every hour, so part of my routine is to lie down and check in to this thread and a couple of others a few times a day. On busy days though it might only be if and when I can. On the cake perspective, I'd go with the one you already have all or most ingredients for. They are both delicious so whatever you choose is going to be a winner.

No pressure either to post pics of trees. I know a lot of folk don't like to be identified irl so thats understandable. I have just switched the lights on mine and smiled at this lovely new pomegranate decoration, so I shall share the close up of it here.

I have no ingredients - not even flour or eggs 😂 Will go back to the recipes and weigh up which one involves the least ingredients and is therefore the cheapest, against which one is the quickest and easiest to make.

Any perspectives welcome.

Boo! My pomegranate pic won't post. Stupid CloudFlare issues again. I will try again later..

@PrizedPickledPopcorn a sling is an inspired idea. I may buy one or fashion one from a scarf for him for Christmas. He would love it. DD used to love her sling when she was a baby.

I ache so much. Having walked back from dropping the car off and will have to walk back for it later. My Dad usually drops me off and picks me up but he has hospital appointments today. Have got Mums cleaner coming tonight to help with emptying my conservatory for Mondays building work to commence and then I need to pack the car for tomorrows craft fair (car has failed MOT but is in process of having required work done) DD has told me it has to be a takeaway of my choice this evening. I wholeheartedly agree. I rang my building company and told them I can't move my heavy table and dresser out of the conservatory and they said it will be fine they will sort it (the contract states everything must be removed, they aren't insured to move your furniture etc, but obviously they accept that some folk struggle. So at least that's sorted. Phew.

If you do make the orange poppyseed watch out for the amount of syrup - my cake was very very moist and rather fell apart in the middle. Certainly possible it was a bit underbaked too (ie my fault) so unless you want a soggy cake, go easy!! NB the flavour of cake was excellent and will def make again…..

Agree with this. I don't do the syrup (I don't like syrup) so I do a brief drizzle of icing sugar mixed with lemon or orange juice or just leave plain.

Lord I wish I could bake.Orange poppy seed cake sounds delicious!

Oh, it's been a day of woes all round. Sorry to hear about the pains, MOTs and grief. Contrary events always seem to hit harder at this time of year, I hope everyone is warm, safe and as content as they can be, tonight.

The clutch on my car is slipping, I crawled up the hill at 30 in 3rd, terrified I'm going to burn the clutch out. Phoned my garage 7 times today, no-one picked up. So, that'll most likely have to wait for Monday, which means I need to face the hill again.

Added to that, I had a pair of year 11 boys where one made a decent attempt at killing the other, in my class today. One picked up a wooden lab stool and hit the other with it, until the lab stool splintered and a leg broke off. Then he proceeded to punch the other student in the face.

So I'm there, screaming at the top of my voice for him to stop, whilst trying to get between then and separate them.

Took me almost 2 hours to complete the paperwork.

Then, littlest has cut part of his new toy, and it can't be fixed.

Arrrrgh!

Lordy @WeMeetInFairIthilien that sounds like a nightmare indeed. I do hope you have been able to / are able to relax a little tonight and over the weekend.

The wind is howling here. Mr Darcy does not like this at all, so is trying to match the wind with his (slightly pathetic and crotchety) howls back. I'm in bed already. The car is packed with everything we need for our Christmas fair tomorrow (I think) It will be interesting to see how much we take, given that a stall is usually £295 but we have been given one free due to community spirit.

Not sure if photos are working yet, so will apologise in advance if there's no image attached to tomorrow mornings post.

Oh. Yes, there's my pomegranate bauble!

Eesh a day to forget as soon as possible @WeMeetInFairIthilien. I had a trying (though far less trying than yours) day too working with a non verbal diabetic person whose finger prick tests must be done hourly and whose blood sugars were all over the place to a crazy degree. The stress.
It’s blowing a gale, cold and my Tesco delivery got cancelled. I’ve given up and gone to bed. Hope for better for tomorrow as my lovely Dad used to say :)

Do you know what, I thought I had a trying afternoon at work, but it pales into insignificance in compassion with that, @WeMeetInFairIthilien

and @PricklyBob the answer to your question this morning, is ‘both’! Always both. You can halve them and put the halves in the freezer. That’s my excuse anyway!

I’m hoping to do the orange poppy seed one tomorrow. Even though we haven’t eaten all the Kiwi Chocolate brownie. The freezer will keep us on the straight and narrow!

Some shockers of days. I hope Friday evening calm can be found. BTW @WeMeetInFairIthilien is there any way that CGM can be sorted for the client? No hourly finger pricks needed then.

I place before you lovelies my Christmas bauble for this year, who channels my calm, wonky-specced approach to life.

I'd love to solve the issue of teenage boy testosterone with CGM, @Bimblesalong , but I'm not convinced it'd work 🤣

6 December

A tale of two polenta

Our family tree contains centuries of blacksmiths, gunsmiths, silversmiths and metalworkers. In what sometimes reads like an episode of Peaky Blinders. My grandmother worked in a dairy, delivering milk by horse and cart. A single Mum, she brought up a daughter and four sons alone. (My grandfather died aged 32) I knew her only towards the end of her life, when she was bad tempered, contrary and exhausted. Visits to her house were memorable, if only for the tin bath hanging by the coal-fired kitchen range and my puzzlement at being in a house without an indoor bathroom.

Morning all!

I'm up early as usual and am going to make a pot of tea and light a candle so I can have an hour to myself before getting DD up for the Christmas fair.

I'm not sure if we have many on the thread in North East England this year. If there is anyone, our Christmas fair is in our lovely town square in North Shields. It promises to be a big one this year withabout 70 stalls. Everyone is pulling out the stops after last years was cancelled due to storm Darragh. We are inside the library on the ground floor as part of the community hub today. Do come and say hello if you're local. We also have free tea and biscuits in the library 😋

Your fair sounds lovely hope you have a great day. Thank goodness you're inside as I'm not sure the weather is much better this year!! I've just come downstairs with similar intentions. Am working today but hoping for some peace and a coffee before everyone rise gets up. I can see my wreath swinging wildly on the door through the glass - might have to get it in for safe keeping 🙈😂

Someone should definitely invent CGM for teenage testosterone! (It was my client @Bimblesalongand she won’t tolerate it unfortunately-profoundly autistic and is set on the finger pricking, though if it were me I would look at trying the alternative again as her quality of life is so impacted by the constant testing-her fingers are so scar tissued that we struggle to get enough blood out to test sometimes when it’s cold and it’s far from ideal in a farm environment).

I don’t much like Polenta. I think I haven’t cooked it well when I’ve tried-I get a sort of tasteless mush.

Up early for me today as we have friends coming to stay at 1pm. The house is filthy so I need to clean, walk dogs and go and do a shop to replace my cancelled Tesco one. Ideally I would like to put up my outside decs and make a swag for an interior door but I think time will be against me on that. Plus the weather still looks grim.

Have a lovely Saturday all

Good luck for your fair @RainbowZebraWarrior!

I'm not keeping up very well either but am finding listening to the book on Spotify while driving is working really well. We are still having work done on the house which I'm finding really stressful and DH has booked us to go on holiday a week today which in theory should be lovely but in reality is a bit of a nightmare and just the wrong time of year for me. Need to get everything done and sorted ready for Christmas this week before we go. Only working a half day today so hopefully can get some wrapping done this afternoon. @Bimblesalong your decoration is gorgeous!!! I'm not very crafty but loved my wreath making workshop this week and was pleased to be doing something festive. We even had mulled wine and mince pies! Hope everyone has a good day x

She's a beauty!

I agree @piscofriscoabout polenta being largely tasteless mush. I wasn't going to say anything as I feel I'm often too vocal about foods I don't like. Polenta is one of those things that no matter how much you season it, it is very disappointing.

That sounds really stressful @imp2007 ongoing building work and a holiday landed on you meaning you have less time to get sorted for Christmas is not a good mix. I hope that once you are away, it can be a relaxing time for you though.

So quiet here with just me and Mr D up and the candles flickering away. He is guarding my cup of tea. I don't hear any rain (yet) so fingers crossed. Need to go and get the packed lunch stuff together. Absolutely one of my favourite parts of doing a stall is seizing a crafty five minute break for a much needed nibble on a favourite sandwich and / or home made cheese scone. I always make sure we have lovely things to eat as it helps the long day go by when you have Goodies.

Have a lovely day, all!

Happy St Nicholas Day everyone. I really like today's chapter. Nigel's grandmother sounds like she was an amazingly strong woman, but no wonder she could be "bad tempered, contrary and exhausted". I love that Nigel refers to himself as "Nige".

I was curious about the painting he mentions, so looked it up. I wonder what is wrong with the boy on the left, he doesn't look very smiley?

The weather here is wet again. Yesterday it seemed as though it never really grew properly light. We had the lamps on at about 2pm.

I hope your craft fair goes well @RainbowZebraWarrior . I wish I could visit your stall but 315 miles is a bit too far for a day trip!

Sending a hug to all of you going through stressful times ❤️