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!

That’s so frustrating, @RainbowZebraWarrior. People can be completely weird about sending breakable things through the post. I intermittently collected vintage china and am now trying to rehome a lot of it and bought a set of side-plates on eBay with the matching big serving plate. I was pleased to get them for a really good price as they were (and are) quite collectible.

The package arrived in a cardboard box with all the little plates stacked together on top of the big one, which had taken the strain and was irreparably smashed - no packing whatsoever in between and, like yours, with just a token bit of brown paper wrapped round the whole stack. The vendor was similarly ‘huh?’ about me getting back to him about it.

@AlicePottery you make a good point about it not actually needing a vessel. Of course it can just be a free standing candle. And yes, feedback definitely needed about the disabled bays. There were some customers who really struggled to find parking yesterday, and of course couple of other bays scattered around the town centre were taken up by folk without a blue badge. Someone went to find the traffic warden to complain and found him sitting in a local café sheltering from the rain drinking tea all day and he apparently proclaimed that he didn't care!

@Hendiadys I wonder why folk sell fragile stuff when they clearly cba to pack it properly. I get the distinct impression this seller just packed it up in a hurry. When I reported to vinted, she messaged me with "What the hell?" 🙄

I am also now trying to offload some china after clearing my dresser and wondering why I bought all these vintage teasets which are never used. Very pretty, but just gathering dust. I really need to stop and think going forward and not just say "Ooh. Bargain!"

Your stall looks great @RainbowZebraWarrior . I'm in Durham so must come and find you at Tynemouth one day. I had an annual family posh lunch' at Fenwick's in Newcastle yesterday, then mooched about stroking beautiful expensive things in the food hall. Ended up buying an expensive coat thanks to the egging-on by family members after a few drinks. Commiserations to people who had a rough week at work; it can be hard to put it aside and not let it spoil your weekend. When things are difficult I sometimes feel I use my free time to either recover from or prepare for work, but I get a decent break at Christmas and hope to chill. I made the orange poppyseed with lots of syrup and took it into work last week and it went down well (not altruism, have to get it out of the house so I don't eat it all 🐽) and I think because the cake was slightly overcooked it held its shape beautifully. Hope you all have a restful Sunday.

Glad the market stall went well @RainbowZebraWarrior and hoping the knees stop throbbing soon. What an idiot with that candle! I bet she's not a Nigel fan.

Fallen slightly behind after a busy work week but I did Christmas tree festival duty yesterday afternoon, which recharged the festive batteries a bit - though the tree donated by Co-op Funeral Services with a big box of funeral plan brochures next to it did make me chuckle.

Growing up, my parents were turkey-dodgers - neither were very keen - so we had all sorts of experiments with duck, goose, partridge etc. In the end they settled on beef wellington. Not Christmassy but definitely delicious.

I now do a veggie beef Wellington for Christmas (and only at Christmas because faff).

I'm really making the most of my tea advent calendar by using a different 'nice' cup each day which I don't usually use as they're expensive and handmade 😅 (not all of them obviously). Today's is a little fox sniffing a leaf which I thought was appropriate seeing as it's for green tea with strawberry and basil, not a combination I would ever have chosen but it's really nice and not at all weird.

@RainbowZebraWarrior The stall looks lovely.

As to the pot you could do what the Japanese do and use Kintsugi to repair it and it will have lovely gold bits in there. I think it could look quite lovely afterwards and unique!

@RainbowZebraWarrior I am just using that very candle! What a shame the pot is broken.

@AlicePottery the fox cup is really beautiful. We had new Christmas mugs this year, not unique, from Sara Miller. The law dictates that Christmas mugs are used in December here.

I bought Bird and Blend’s box of four festive blends. My favourite is Snowball. It is quite a weak brew but tastes lovely despite that (I’m making ⅔ of a cup).

I’ve been really bad at joining in with the thread ☹️, stupidly busy at work. Audible has kept me on track with the book.

Magnificent Christmas decorations at le Bon Marché this year @Bimblesalong, with a Swiss village disguising the iconic escalators. I felt you were very much with me in spirit as I toured the various departments, particularly when I chanced upon this ridiculously overpriced Buly candle lamp (for warming your candle when you don’t want to light it - for safety purposes or whatever, I don’t really see the point) - only €650, candle NOT included (that will set you back another €140!!!)

I think we can safely say you have won the ridiculously priced candle contest @LillianGish

Wow that is a pricey candle @LillianGish

Your stall looks lovely @RainbowZebraWarrior - glad it went well.

I was VN yesterday and made roast duck legs on a bed of celeriac. Today I have done several hours of rehearsing Christmas music for some concerts next weekend and have been almost broken by the Nutcracker. Absolutely no energy or brain power left to cook this evening so it's a delivery of a huge vat of fried rice and some crispy salt-and-pepper things from a local Vietnamese restaurant.

Got my first Christmas card today 😊

That is exactly what DD has just said she is going to do with the pot, and I'm very much looking forward to the result. A good outcome would feel very positive indeed as the seller has been very difficult to say the least.

I am going to pop in to see the resident Paramedic that we have at our surgery tomorrow. She's brilliant, and deals with non urgent medical issues. My knees are still a mess, and getting worse (possibly due to not being able to rest) so I'd like her opinion.

@BitKnackered64 any time you are headed Tynemouth way, give me a shout. Would be lovely to meet you.

The wind and rain is awful here. As far as I know, my building work is going ahead tomorrow. Personally, I'd like to hibernate until Christmas Eve right now.

I spotted over on Instagram that Nigel has posted a photo of his Christmas fruit cake today - it does look delicious! I won't be making one but I have been prompted to purchase (and subsequently scoff the lot) some Stollen due to reading CC 😁

Sorry to hear of the various injuries and other misfortunes experienced by @RainbowZebraWarrior and others. I hope you're all doing a bit better today 💗

Just caught up with this thread. Thinking of all those who have difficult health challenges and have had horrible weeks.

Finally got my tree up and made my first batch of mince pies. Saw a very good student production of the Crucible on Friday (not very festive or very Nigel I know!). Slightly more festive, I have booked to see a live stream repeat of the Nutcracker with DD on Sunday and am going to see lots of DS' friends play in his conservatoire symphony orchestra on Friday. DS is a conservatoire student but not performance. His friends are a ridiculously talented lot and it will be lovely to hear them all plays some festive music.

Last Christmas present has gone AWOL in the Royal Mail system so will have to sort that out tomorrow. Ah well, it should be easy to sort.

Here's my tree. Artificial unfortunately as I am very allergic to real ones!

I noticed on his mince pie post that he also said his tree won't be going up until next week.

Christmas is all skewiff this year. Because it’s right at the end of a week, this weekend has come too soon. I wasn’t really ready to decorate, but if we leave it til next weekend it will feel too late. Or something. A mid week Christmas works better. Especially for church! We’ll have our Christmas services Thursday and Friday, then be back again Sunday!

Is anyone else really struggling to attach pictures? It's taken me all day to get these to attach.

We've had a quite weekend. Frankly, I'm still a bit out-of-sorts from Friday, and am dreading the fallout tomorrow. Had my (free) flu jab yesterday, and am feeling sorry for myself today. Still, have had a young colleague hospitalised with flu recently, so couldn't keep putting it off.

I'm so glad the market went well yesterday @RainbowZebraWarrior

We took the 2 DC to a new light trail last night. We're lucky in that we have a choice of 5 within the hour of us. Littlest had a few meltdowns, he still doesn't understand that he can't just run ahead. But, he still said today that he had a brilliant time.

We even saw a deer cross our road, on the way back home.

The children had a very NN (not Nigel) dinner of Cowboy pie, in the loft! Corned beef, onions, baked beans, carrots, with BBQ sauce, and cheesy mash on top. They cleared their plates 😆. We've recently had the loft reboarded, and it is the height of indulgence to allow them to eat dinner up there. I used chestnuts with mine, rather than corned beef (am vege).

Have wrapped up the presents for my three nieces and nephews, currently just waiting for 2 more things in the post.

Bedtime soon, loveliest DH had already filled the bed with hot water bottles, so it'll be warm already for me.

Have a good night, all.

@petitpasta we are seeing the Nutcracker livestream on Wednesday! We weren't planning to, but one of my birthday presents back at the beginning of November was a cinema trip to see La Fille Mal Gardée and we saw a trailer for Nutcracker and thought why not!

I saw this church for from the outside for the first time recently and it is just the most stunning building. I am not religious but I do truly appreciate the beautiful buildings that it has produced (and the music). Our local cathedral is, I think, very impressive but ugly!

My winter is not going to plan (there's a massive surprise) but i have been enjoying Nigel on Spotify. I'm not sure how my resolve to appreciate the small things and to appreciate winter for what it is rather than fight it has ended up here, and yet it has. Still each new day is just that and I can start over again.

Had a lovely afternoon yesterday where the kids played beautifully together and read (the older two) some new "books" avidly (snug and blob or something - very comic-y but I'll take it). I know they like each other but sometimes it's hard to tell with all the arguing. My parents have also been really wonderful the last week or so and i am so grateful for them.

It rained constantly yesterday, but I like the sound of the rain, and it suits the big open landscapes around here. Just before sunset there was a glimmer, not of sunshine, but of blue sky.

I'm loving seeing all the Christmas tree pictures. Ours is here but hasn't been decorated yet. We started having a live tree last year which I do prefer but they are not as impressive. Ours is a lovely shape but it's a bit puny! Hoping it will decorate nicely.

8 December

Spice, crumbs and cream

There has been a golden tin by the coffee machine for some time now. Each year I fill it with Lebkuchen that I bring back from late Autumn trips to Cologne, Oslo, Gothenburg or Vienna. The best I have ever had hail from Nurenberg. You can buy them in Britain of course, but I like to hunt these out nearer their spiritual home.

@WeMeetInFairIthilien there have been CloudFlare problems with MN this past few days which has created issues uploading photos. Hope today goes OK after Friday's awful incident

Gosh, I'm jiggered. Once more unto the breach and all that..

Sending you lots of hope for a better day today @WeMeetInFairIthilien. Will have a proper catch up on the thread later after a busy weekend with friends coming and DD2 coming home from uni. DH has got Covid. AGAIN! That’s the second time in 6 months. Unless our tests are a bit wonky and giving false positives. Whatever he’s got he isn’t at all well which is rubbish.
have a good Monday all

Happy Monday! Specially positive thoughts for the paramedic and your knees, @RainbowZebraWarrior , and for your processes at school, @WeMeetInFairIthilien .

I’m on an admin day today. No meetings, just sorting and clearing and preparing the calendar for next year. Tedious but calm.

Cripes, @LillianGish that better have scented the whole store! My friend visits Paris annually to photograph the Christmas lights for his blog. They do a great job in making things sparkle.

Hope the bumps are recovering @RainbowZebraWarrior Also, what rubbish wrapping for that beautiful candle.