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!

@Bimblesalong I too have the no grapefruit and no pomegranate order. Before I wasn't that fussed about grapefruit. I'd happily eat it if it was put in front of me, but I wouldn't actively choose it. Now I'm not allowed it, I suddenly have overpowering cravings for it!

Me either! I was really excited about wintering, and both the narration and the story didn't quite work for me. I keep thinking about going back, but can't bring myself to do it.

18 November

Surf and Turf

It is a rare day when I don't make something to eat. If I am going out to dinner, then I will make lunch, because I can't get all the way through to eight in the evening. My fishmonger has pieces of hot smoked salmon, cut from the thick end of the fillet. I bake them with new potatoes and dill.
While the oven is on, I test a quick recipe that I feel might be fun. A sort of toad in the hole for two, with chubby cocktail sausages, and a handful of sour red cranberries from the freezer to offer a sharp contrast. A keeper.

@RainbowZebraWarrior I bought and read the Salt Path, and thought it was... ok. Did also buy the next book and hated it, didn't get very far through but the misery felt relentless.

@Bimblesalong and @Confusedmeanderings (what a lovely pairing of usernames!) - I had several years of the no grapefruit ruling, and I'm also not fussed about it but suddenly really wanted it. Especially grapefruit marmalade!

I'm about to embark on a chilly sunrise walk... to the In Post locker for a Vinted parcel.

I didn’t get on with Wintering or The Salt Path. The audio of The Salt Path was even too miserable to send me to sleep. I couldn’t get beyond her voice. I had high expectations of Wintering and it wasn’t what I expected.

@Confusedmeanderings @martha79 well its just rude really! I occasionally use pomegranate in Ottolenghi cooking but won’t miss the kitchen carnage and stuck pips on my teeth.

Why is Wintering so, difficult?

I have seen it and thought about reading it, I have the impression that it's some sort of feelgood, meditation, celebration of the winter season in that it can be a time for a slower, indoor pace, human hibernation I guess.

But then I kind of think that is what the written bits of CC sort of does so think that box is already ticked might as well read something else. And to be honest I have never really gone in for "self help" books. The only one I can think of I got to the end of was "In Defense of Food" which summed most of eating up with "eat less mostly plants".

I get more meditation and celebration from paintings.

I'm not allowed grapefruit on my medication either. Sometimes I get the urge to down a huge amount of grapefruit juice out of spite.

It's another cold day but not wet, yet.

I'm concerned about Wintering now. I haven't properly started it - just had a flick through the beginning - it was such a thoughtful gift from DH, who never does things like this 😂I can see why he thought I would love it. I hated The Salt Path though and trust the judgement of likeminded souls on this thread...

Commiserations to those on the no grapefruit/pomegranate plans. I consume so much of both of these that I really do worry about ending up on a treatment plan like this.

Not read today's CC entry yet. Will do that later in the day once the sun (ha! it's rain/sleet here) goes down.

It should be good in principal. The elements are there, and from the cover it sounds like you'd imagine it to be. This is likely why most of us have picked it up / tried it. But it is the epitome of Misery Lit as I said last night. Yes, it's about being appreciative of the little things, and yes, the descriptions are beautiful. However, the majority is navel gazing and fretting over illness. It definitely reminded me of reading the intro to Midnight Chicken (which again, on paper I thought I would love) and it starts with her on the floor, in a dark depressive place. The author refers constantly to 'The Boy' or suchlike - whom she seems obsessed with - which I found vomit inducing. Yes, the story is about turning a corner and finding joy in food, but she literally just whines on about how depressed she is / was and it really doesn't make for good reading to me. It reminded me of some of the support groups I've been in for my chronic illness condition. It ends up becoming competitive misery and a peeing competition of who is the most ill. Thus, I don't do them any more.

Misery Lit really does sum it up for me. I think you have to have a real gift for telling a story of overcoming adversity, otherwise it can come across as a rather depressing read and revelling in misery.

The descriptive bits in Wintering are lovely having said all that. @PricklyBob it was definitely a lovely thought by your DH.

It wasn't difficult, per se, I just couldn't get on with the author. For me it was the massive build up of her child being ill, thinking the poor kid was going to die, and then she was just talking about a standard small-children winter. Which sucks utterly, utterly, but I couldn't quite see it as the starting point for the sort of complete shut down that wintering suggests; and I abandoned it, because I found it bit melodramatic.

But that's just me. It might be brilliant but I couldn't get past my reaction to the start of it.

Hoping it’s ok to join in, I don’t have the book and my DP is the foodie in our house and he’s a much better cook than me. I only became aware of this thread yesterday evening and I’ve really enjoyed reading it all, I stayed awake reading part 1 until the very small hours and the first thing I did when I got up today was search DPs vast collection of cookery books to see if he had it, but sadly he doesn’t. I think the reason this thread resonated with me was because DP has recently purchased Rick Steins Christmas and I really enjoyed reading the chapter introductions with his descriptions of childhood Christmases and festive memories.

I love winter, especially Christmas and as I’m not working today I’ll be spending the day working on my contribution to our villages advent window project and trying to keep warm as the temperature has really plummeted here in the last few days. And of course I’ll be searching online for a copy of Christmas Chronicles. Anyway as I’m late to the party here’s a couple of photos I took recently of local fireworks and my homemade Parkin.

I seem to remember that a couple of really excellent books (Last Orders for one) led to a whole genre of misery lit primarily about the struggles of the Irish and Japanese women in the 90s/noughties. Most of it was badly written copies of those one or two really excellent books talking about difficult issues and telling difficult truths.

This sort of effort to copy themes used by genuinely brilliant writers can make picking a book a minefield.

Welcome on board @ihavebecomecomfortablynumb - I must confess I enjoy the thread almost as much (even dare I say sometimes more than) the book. @RainbowZebraWarrior gives a flavour of each chapter so you can get the gist until you track down a copy. You could even put it on your Christmas list as it goes on until February (and a hardy few of us even stick around all year making Nigelesque observations!) Looking forward to hearing more about your village Advent windiws

Yes! This is exactly it. I also totally agree with your previous post.

@CrinaCara I also meant to say I agree with you about reading CC in wodges. I probably do 4 / 5 /6 chapters at a time.

A warm welcome to you @ihavebecomecomfortablynumb Hope you manage to find a copy. Theres a really good sign up offer on Audible atm (99p a month for 3 months plus £10 credit iirc) so that might be the way to go. Advent window project sounds lovely.

Right. Must make candles. I've been faffing around making satsuma peel wreaths putting off..

Perhaps it would make a good Christmas present for him!

Thanks for the summary, misery lit is not my sort of thing, I get plenty of news with the newspaper and weekly news round up magazines we are subscribed to (which we discuss with the teens over dinner - it's fun in our household, although sometimes you do get to make them squirm, a lengthy weekend article about the recent term "sigma male" did just that - so when I was dropping adoptive teen home after school one day I heard "......sigma male" "shuussh your mum can hear" "it's ok she knows all about it" - "did someone say sigma male?" "oh my god mum not now" :-D )

So I prefer my literature to be thought provoking or entertaining but not harrowing as such.

A beautiful but cold day on the farm. We are in the orchard, under blue skies and bare branches, harvesting the last of the apples. It’s is perfect! This morning we cut down the tree we donate to the village green-sort of our version of Nigel going to select the Trafalgar Square one :)

@RainbowZebraWarrior @LillianGish The advent window is turning into a labour of love. Thankfully I don’t ‘open my window’ until the 23rd of December so I have plenty of time to get it done. I’m making a festive village scene and currently trying to cut out an accurate sugar paper silhouette of the village church. I’m beginning to wish I’d chosen a simpler idea.

Although I suspect I’ll be adding satsuma peel wreaths to my Christmas to do list as that looks terrific.

How fabulous is this?! Our local trees usually go up by the end of the week, so I'm looking out for them.

@Bimblesalong just been to Aldi and they had a cracking selection of dupe candles. Better offerings than the last couple of years I'd say. I went with the three in the 2nd photo. The silver bauble is very White Company, it's called Winter Spice I think. The ceramic one is obviously meant to be a Diptyque dupe and I will enjoy refilling it. It's rose scented but there were others. The third one I just liked but I don't think it's a dupe of anything. All were around the £4.99 mark.

Oh I must have a look in Aldi. It's a bit out of the way here but if there's nice bits in it's worth it.

Child and I got soaked on the walk home from school so we had a hot bath (she's still small enough to get in with me!) and have got hot chocolate now.

Yes, the Aldi range is huge, I spent a happy time exploring them on my last shopping trip and came home with a Hotel Collection Warm Glow which says it is smokey embers, leather and sandalwood. I don't know if it's dupe but it very much feels in the seasonal spirit.

I had also bought one of the ex advent calendar mini Trudon Ernestos when the last thread started. I wasn't that impressed at first but actually it is lasting much longer than they said it would and leaves a nice residual smell after it's been burnt for a while.

Warm Glow much needed on this very wet and dark November evening.

Behind doesn’t begin to cover it. Grumble grumble. I’ve had to do oven rescue as it threw up an error code mid meal. Grumble grumble. So I’m extra ready to sit with feet up, book in one hand and MN in the other!

Sorry to hear of soakings and oven malfunctions and hoping everyone is now suitably warm, or soon will be.

Here's a funny thing. We take a large skull candle to craft fairs with us. We always say it's for display purposes only as its imperfect due to me not having filtered the beeswax sufficiently. People always comment to say that it's the imperfections that make it look like a real skull. We've taken so many orders for these things that I now seem to be in the business of making imperfect candles which has taken some getting used to. In the end though, it's been rather liberating!

Now it’s finally chilly I have fully embraced Nigel and his ethos - couldn’t really get on board when it was still 17c...

Christmas cards have started to be written, wrapping paper and ribbon are being decided on, stocking presents are being stashed away, and I got started on the canapés today.

Now to pop the fire on and settle in to watch a suitably cosy murder mystery before my fiancé gets home from work.