Year round Nigel Slater discussion thread - Part 3

[RainbowZebraWarrior]

Hello, all and welcome to this lovely space for our continued chats.

A bit of background for anyone not familiar with this topic:
The Nigel Slater Christmas Chronicles readalong usually takes place here between November and February each year (the Christmas Chronicles being a book written by Nigel Slater full of winter recipes and anecdotes) It's been running for a few years, and the contributors have collectively decided it would be nice to have it running all year round.

So here it is. It is a place to appreciate all things Nigel-esque. Think seasonal food and recipes, enjoyment of nature, gardening, appreciation of the weather, and sharing of news and small moments of joy. It's a calm, cosy space for gentle chat and merriment so pull up a chair to the fireplace, grab a drink and relax.

A very hearty welcome to friends new and old!

Oh @RainbowZebraWarrior those are gorgeous rings!

I followed all your lettuce advice ladies and look! I have baby leaves ☺️

@RainbowZebraWarrioryou're rings are beautiful

lovely day today. The sun shone for at least an hour. So went to our local beach and our dog ran around and had a mad half hour or so. Followed by a great roast at a fab pub.

new candle is lit, Coastal Breeze by John Lewis. Smells lovely.

It's amazing how good a bit of blue sky and sunshine can make you feel, isn't it?! I've bought a little pot of tete-a-tete from M&S to remind me that spring is coming when the "groundhog day rain" returns! And I thought the little ceramic pot would be nice to keep and re-use next year, so somewhat Nigel 😁

@WhoAteMyBiscuitdefinitely! Sunshine makes me feel so much better. My whole body woke
up and felt so much better than it had done for much this afternoon.

I love tête - a- têtes

@RainbowZebraWarrior gorgeous rings. Really lovely.

my kitchen diaries is #4, the one with apples. I’m delighted as I couldn’t quite recall if I had it already - and I don’t, just #3. I know what you mean about more room as these two alone are hefty volumes.

Lovely pot @WhoAteMyBiscuit the celadon green is definitely VVn

@WhoAteMyBiscuit that's a lovely pot! So lively to see the sun today - and the rugby was great too.

I'm idly perusing holidays this evening. DH has a list of pre historic sites he wants to visit so we are working on matching my love of the sea with things he wants to see.

That's a tremendous weight loss @petitpasta . Brilliant! Was it a UK holiday you were thinking of, or further afield? If it was further away, what about Brittany? If a river could substitute for the sea there's also the Dordogne?

@RainbowZebraWarrior love the rings! When I'm in the antique shop, I still do any adding up on the back of an envelope. We do have a till but it's an antique wooden one that just holds the money!

Sorry about the poorly cat @Bimblesalong . Hope she improves.

The sunshine was lovely today. We went out for Sunday lunch with friends and it was lovely to relax and catch up. We don't do enough of that I think. Our best friends used to live opposite and we saw them every day, they have only moved 100 miles away but life is so busy I have to remind myself to make time to see them.

UK holiday this year. Possibly a river cruise next year or the fjords. I fancy the isle of Wight as I've only been there once. DH is looking at historic sites in Kent and Sussex.

Our clump of tete a tetes are all out! :) They were a pot full present a good few years ago and we planted them out after they'd flowered. They grew again, success! I'm thinking maybe Cornwall would be nice for a short break in March, will all the Spring flowers be out there already?

Wow, those tetes really are glorious! I will try to be organised and get mine planted out when they're done flowering in the hope they will also come back next year. I hadn't thought of doing that, so thanks for the tip @sbplanet 🌱

Do you think I could plant out my little hyacinth pot? The pot was from a supermarket but they are the prettiest pale pink and are giving me lots of joy. Would love to see them again next year if I could.

That's the first one - volume 1 - the one with the apples. I have to say that he deeply confuses me with the blinking things. Doesn't help that the first two volumes have '4th' on the side for 4th estate; part of the Harper Collins publishing house I believe. It also doesn't help that the covers change quite often. I buy a book of his then realise I've actually already got it.

Absolutely get them planted out.

I might call into B&Q on the way to get DD from school as I got a couple of little yellow pots of tête a tête last week for a pound each and could do with more. I have a small clump in the garden, but they aren't properly up yet.

Almost three hours at the beach this morning. Oomph I can feel it. Had to be done though as the sun was shining and one must make hay while the sun shines! Mind I almost took off in the wind a couple of times. Had a few very pleasant exchanges with folk. Some locals and visitors to the region. People always seem interested when you're collecting seaglass and I'm always happy to pass on any local knowledge. Hopefully not to the point of boring people haha. I'm feeling rather weatherbeaten!

Tete-a-tetes are so sweet. I must admit I quite enjoy walking up the road that leads to work as it is a broad avenue with lots of wild spring flowers bursting out here and there on the grass verges. Snowdrops are on the way out, crocuses are in full swing and the miniature daffodils have just appeared on the scene. Plus a bit of blossom on some branches. So cheering after months of brown and grey.

@RainbowZebraWarrior thankyou!

Ancient computer is still living it's best life on a cushion being treated as king, and reliant on a few exterior attachments, but... I've managed to clean it out and replace the keyboard, which was neither cheap nor is something I thought myself capable of, but hopefully able to keep up now, and pleased.
Creative community project had its launch. Lots of energy currently going into trying to get the world to de clutter unwanted art and creative materials into it as we're without funding, but doing it anyway. Round 2 happens this week.
Grateful for honey fungus, but looking forward to more variety.

@RainbowZebraWarriorLoving your rings, as well as you helping keeping someone else in business.
A little late in the month but I believe St VAlentine is the patron saint of beekeepers.

@petitpasta If you want to keep them going the trick is to lift them over winter, but you should get at least a couple of years from just planting out and leaving them.
Looking forward to seeing your lettuce grow up.

@Bimblesalong sorry to hear about puss, fingers crossed.

Good to hear from you (and your ancient computer) @EphemeraleEudemonia I'd been wondering how you were getting on. Beat of luck with phase 2 of your project. St Valentine is indeed one of the patron saints of beekeeping (there are around four, iirc)

Best laid plans here. Was just tootling to B&Q for more narcissi yesterday afternoon when bang, two of the screws sheared off my undertray on the car and it started dragging along the ground. Thats the second time its happened this winter. Flipping salty sea air corroding everything! Luckily I was just leaving the village so I limped slowly to the garage, threw my keys at them and hot footed it round the corner to Dad's allotment where I found him clipping the dog. We cleared some space in the truck (imagine something that's been left in a barn for a decade) and still managed to pick DD up from school in plenty of time. DD, kids and teachers all happy to have a surprise visit from Belle. They were all talking about her maybe sharing therapy dog duties with the headmasters spaniel.

Anyway, car now fixed. Planning to go to B&Q first thing. Fingers crossed. Hoping the rain stays off too so I can have my daily dose of outdoor therapy at the beach. I mean, I'll go anyway, but it's more enjoyable when it's dry!

Have a good day, all

Scary experience with the car @RainbowZebraWarrior , glad it's all sorted now.

We have beautiful sunshine! And I'm off for an MRI scan, so will miss it...

Best of luck with the scan leporello

Hope the scan goes well @leporello

Glad your car is sorted @RainbowZebraWarrior

Good work on the computer repairs @EphemeraleEudemonia

Ugh, I am tired this week. Only working Monday-Wednesday, and I've got a couple of nice visits from friends planned for the long weekend, but could do with finding some energy from somewhere. I'm very much the "eating random bits from the fridge" version of Nigel this week rather than the "cook something for three hours" one.

It's not exactly sunny here but it is brighter. Daffs and crocuses are properly out now and there's lots of little buds everywhere. I have an amelanchier tree in my garden (which I constantly forget the name of and have to look up), which has amazing blossom in spring and incredible bright flowers - I've just noticed this morning that the first buds are showing.

@martha79I can never remember the name amelanchier either! I have one front and one back and for some reason it doesn’t stick 🤷‍♀️
First daffodil out in my garden today and I just had DH haul out a knackered old rhododendron so I can move the rhubarb. And my cucumbers have germinated. Spring is definitely approaching.
Hope the scan is ok @leporello and sorry about the car @RainbowZebraWarrior
Ours announced yesterday that it was time for a service but we thought it would be nice to aim for a week or two without taking it to the garage so ignoring that for now
Lovely pics @EphemeraleEudemoniai really
like grape hyacinths but have never got around to planting any. I should put it in my diary now to remember in the autumn.

-

I also love grape hyacinths and they were one of my favourite flowers as a child as the garden was always full of them. I planted some bright turquoise ones last year which are now popping up. Not likely to flower until April, but exciting to see.

I have refilled the coconut feeders with lard and seed. A strangely enjoyable job! I also found some reduced narcissi and miniature iris in B&Q which im well chuffed with. I have 'placed' them where I want them to go, but ran out of energy to actually plant them. Must do it tomorrow whatever the weather.

Hope you find your energy returning as we head into spring @Martha79

Interesting clouds as I sit waiting for DD to come out of school. I always forget what these ones are called.

DH is sitting on the garden bench in the sunshine with the dogs, the birds are singing their little hearts out, and I have just put a cake in the oven. Feeling rather more Nigel this afternoon 😍

Wow! How amazing. It's not massively sunny here, but I've just had an hour in the garden. Tbf, most of it was spent wondering where I had put my trowels, but it was delightful. I also heard / saw a treecreeper, song thrush, dunnock, goldcrest, wren, robin, fieldfare, oystercatcher, blue tit, great tit and Partridge as well as the usual blackbird, sparrows and starlings. The herring gulls also made their noisy presence known just as I came in.

I need to know what kind of cake (please and thank you)

Need to turn my attention to dinner, now.

When life gives you lemons make a good old lemon drizzle 🥰

Amazing how a couple of hours of sunshine and birdsong can lift the spirits, and cake helps too 😄