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!

Afternoon all - busy but festive feeling weekend for us - got up super early on Sunday and did lots of wrapping which has made me feel a bit calmer. Tree bought and decorated was looking lovely until it fell over 🙈 unfortunately smashed one of our more precious baubles - we have the type of tree that doesn't look very co-ordinated but has lots of decorations with sentimental value picked up from trips or received as gifts. All put back up now though and fingers crossed will stay that way!! The decorating second time round wasn't as fun and doesn't look nearly as good so may have to fiddle about with it this evening. As somebody else did made the first batch of mince pies with DS which was fun. We go away on Friday so final push this week to get as much of the wrapping done as possible before we go and get packed. Hope everyone is having a good Monday so far. Loved the pictures of the lights trail - don't think we will make one this year as the closest is a good hour or so away but enjoyed the pics.

Urgh. After 18 weeks of waiting, and every surveyor in the North of England measuring my roof, it appears I may be roofless this evening. My neighbours extension apparently encroaches slightly on my land (build by previous occupants amd also before my time) so there was lots of jiggery pokery needed when manufacturing the new roof. It all got delivered this morning and the lads got cracking with taking off the old roof. When they come to look at the components, some vital additional elements (the jiggery pokery ones) are missing. Something has been lost in communication. I was told at 12.30 that the bits were being made and sent within an hour or two, but if they didn't arrive by 2pm they would lose time / light and the whole conservatory will be left open to the elements overnight. And Storm Bram.is arriving. And im on the edge of a weather warning.

So I left them to it; they were covering the floor with tarpaulin when I left them. I shpwed them where the kettle lived and said I'd see them after the school run.

I have been to my nature reserve. My happy place. With a nice sandwich. I will he doing the same tomorrow too as I hate being in the house when there is noise, mess, uncertainty and blokes using my toilet (yes, I am one of those) Northern Lapwings beat smelly workmen hands down.

@HornungTheHelpful I'm going to hazard a guess at Guildford - impressive but unattractive. Also gives me the willies a bit since the Omen! But I sang 'make me channel of your peace' in a school choir there once and it has spectacular acoustics.
@RainbowZebraWarrior love the silhouette pic.
DH has been and bought a tree today, we will put it up this weekend. It's a compromise, I'd do the weekend after, but that is DD3's birthday and she wants it up before her party. I've made my second batch of mince pies - used Skye MacAlpine's recipe for pastry which is really more like shortbread but I quite like it.
I really love lebkuchen. The (NVN) cheap and nasty ones from tesco are my favourites, 'proper' ones lean a bit too heavily on the nuts for my liking.

I have made lebkuchen twice in my life. I was 16 and wanted to try something new - they turned out brilliantly and my family were very impressed. Later the same year, I took part in a German exchange with school and decided to make them again to impress our German guest. Impressed she was not! She declared my lebkuchen to be boring and something she could eat anytime at home - she wanted to try something British. It put me off making them again (these days I buy from lidl) but perhaps I could be tempted to give it another go - enough time has most definitely passed - maybe next year...

In contrast, my sticky ginger loaf is beautiful, if I say so myself! Very glad I settled on this recipe. Sorry Nigel. In fairness, when I looked at the recipes again, I realised that the orange poppy cake is very similar to Nigella's clementine cake, which is a christmas eve tradition here. If I make Nigel's citrus cake next year, I'll need to ensure it is in November so there is enough time between the two. Or maybe I'll do it in late Jan/Feb? The spiced chocolate cake sounds excellent but I needed to buy twice as much for that as for the other recipes. Also, it seems like something which will be right up MiL's street so I'm going to keep that up my sleeve for next year when she will be spending christmas with us.

I really like the sound of the Lebkuchen crumb pudding from today's entry. Also, having just caught up with yesterday's entry too, roast duck has long been a tradition for the equivalent coming weekend on the years we host christmas - if for no other reason that collecting the fat to use on the roasties on christmas day. We're not hosting this year though so no need for duck on our table this weekend.

Afternoon all! Another busy week ahead. I'm struggling to get time to do anything outside of it. (Yes, technically I have time now, but this is my coffee and biscuit time!)

@Celiathebanshee no - it’s Lincoln. Nice inside but giant carbuncle outside imo. My sister was a chorister at Ely, which I think is lovely.

Help! I’m in TKMax and can’t remember the recommended soap brand Can anyone oblige?
Any other recommendations?

Nige favours Santa Maria Novella (who now haunt all my social media with adverts since I googled them!). I'm a big fan of Nesti Dante soaps which are sometimes in TK Maxx.

Anyone fancy stargazing from my open air conservatory? This is the rain radar forecast for about 5am tomorrow in case anyone hasn't seen. My electricity sockets are entirely unprotected and open to the elements. Thinking of checking into a (Mr Darcy friendly) hotel or just running away in general.

Poor you! Good luck

@RainbowZebraWarriorI hope it isn't too bad for you. The pics of the nature reserve are lovely.

Tonight me and my husband will be sitting down and going through who we still need to buy presents for and what we will be getting.
My eldest made a nice loaf of bread so I'll be nibbling on that with some butter while we are at it. It smells lovely in the house right now.

I must try Nigel's recipe in today's entry. We love Lebkuchen and that's a nice way of trying it in a different way.

Evening all
just caught up
had a weekend full with of teenage birthday - with lots of additional teenage boys - but luckily they are of the sweeter dispositions
and didn’t do a scrap of domestics so spent all today attempting to get the house under control (and we still don’t even know where we are getting a tree from yet)

No baking
no real cooking (do crispy jacket potatoes count)

the only organised thing I have managed is Christmas presents that need to be posted have been posted, rest can be delivered on foot - anytime up to 24th - easy

3 more gifts to buy, 2 are easy one more challenging - and am trying not to buy more books

I might be able to cook and bake this weekend - it’s the relatively lull weekend, so watch it be busier than the rest - best laid plans

sending witch spells for a calmer easier week for all

This is insane

Running away in general is always a good idea when you're having work on the house done. I always do, I get so stressed about all the banging and noises. Hope it goes well, I'd leave them to it, it's best not to know tbh. :)

Oh no @RainbowZebraWarrior! That is awful, you'd think they would have checked they have everything ready before they go beyond the point of no return.

Lots of deep breaths - one day this will be a funny story and you'll remember the winter you had an open air conservatory.

I’m so sorry, Zebra! I don’t know what to hope for, for you! I think I’d worry about what I couldn’t see. Happier when I actually know what’s going on.

Have they at least isolated the conservatory electrics? At the fuse board?

Oh good lord :(!

Well I got home from work to find DD2 in a meltdown about imminent exams. Dd1 in a mood for no real reason, the decorator painting the front room and with dogs running in an out and annoying him (as no one thought to put them away) and DH who has been additionally diagnosed after a test at the GP with Scarlet Fever. Which is very Dickensian of him I feel. It’s also very contagious so I’ve sent him to the spare room. Already my throat feels sore which I’m hoping is all in the mind.
not looking forward to yet another soaking wet day on the farm tomorrow. There are only so many craft activities I can come up with. Spent a happily dry afternoon administering eye drops to twenty ewes with sheep conjunctivitis which was surprisingly satisfying however. Funny where life takes you.
Hoping you all stay dry and warm and out of the storm if it is due to come your way

I went back and made the banana cardamon cake this weekend. It was lovely! Very much recommend that. Made in a round tin though as I don’t have the right sized square one he asks for, and tbh I might just go for a loaf tin next time. Nice recipe, very simple, would probably top with Demerara rather than the caster sugar the recipe specifies. Great recipe.

Oh goodness - the timing couldn’t be worse. How are your knees? I thought of you today after my son came home very late from work. He’d just knocked off at the cafe where he works and was having a drink with his friend when a woman in her fifties rushed by and fell headlong on the pavement in front of them. She was in a lot of pain - DS thought it was her shoulder or collarbone - he called the pompiers, but they said it would be better for her to walk to A&E if she could manage it so he went with her to shield her from the jostling crowds around Gare du Nord. The irony was she had been rushing to meet her brother who was being discharged from the same hospital. She took his phone number so we are awaiting an update. @piscofrisco the decorator painting your front room sounds exceedingly Nigel - I recall one year he didn’t have a tree because he was redecorating though I think yours is already installed. Your description of your poor DH’s scarlet fever as Dickensian made me laugh out loud, I hope he can feel so upbeat about it.

Oh @RainbowZebraWarrior what a nightmare! I would definitely run away. Hopefully it will be sorted out quickly.

@LillianGisheven more Nige-it’s the sort of formal front room. Mostly we live in one big room at the back of the house-kitchen/living/dining sort of affair (where the tree is). The actual front room doesn’t get used much (not least as it was previously painted entirely (walls, ceiling, woodwork) in dark Anthracite grey and was consequently akin to sitting in the black hole of Calcutta. It’s taken this long for the landlady to agree to let us paint it-god knows why she painted it that colour to start with-then maybe we will use it more. It serves as DD2’s room when she is home from uni but I’ve a fancy to use it to sit and read in when she is not.
And how lovely is your son helping the lady out? Top marks for the young man there….

Ive been awake since 4 listening to the rain drumming down outside and hoping you don’t wake up to a swimming pool instead of a conservatory @RainbowZebraWarrior

DH is not upbeat re his scarlet fever. A good patient he is not! Quite pleased he must quarantine really. I’m just shoving trays of foods, meds and drinks through the door at regular intervals at this point and steering clear the rest of the time! Half the staff at the farm are off with flu now and one poor colleague ended up in hospital unable to breathe.This must surely be the worst flu season for some time? (Covid aside).

@RainbowZebraWarrior poor you. How stressful. And we already have hideous very wet rain a bit south of you. I had a new roof last year which was an eye-watering cost but done by the best-looking roofer in the north east. Female neighbours appeared very interested in watching him daily climbing about at such height. Which kind of helped a bit 😁. Grit your teeth and remember it will end and once it's on you will feel glad and relieved as I do now, not having to watch for the latest leak through a ceiling light. Lovely Christmassy updates from you all which are a delight to read, thank you.

9 December

The Christmas card

The e-card, a modern day version of Henry Cole's 1843 invention, lacks everything that the traditional paper card embodies. The shuffle of envelopes as they fall on the doormat; the quizzical analysis of the handwriting; the tug of the slightly wedged card from it's envelope - and the delight on finding a greeting from someone you haven't seen in a while or whose writing you didn't recognise.