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Christmas

From present ideas to party food, find all your Christmas inspiration here.

Year round Nigel Slater discussion thread - Part 3

1000 replies

RainbowZebraWarrior · 18/11/2025 18:35

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!

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Thread gallery
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RainbowZebraWarrior · 01/03/2026 13:29

Good afternoon, happy first day of meteorological spring and happy St David's Day Daffodil

Lovely photos all. Not an awful lot to photograph here yet from a springtime perspective. The daffodils are about to open. I'll take a pic when they do. It's was 1 degree past night and biting cold this AM down the market, so we are trying to get warm now we are home and will spend the afternoon making chilli non carne and a lovely seeded loaf or two.

Busy morning. Don't know where the time goes. I keep running out of day and the jobs keep having to be rolled over. Must order the rest of my seeds and dahlia tubers today. I've got perlite and propogators being delivered later today so that's a start! I'd love to do another hour in the garden, as I have been lately, but honestly my hands and feet are numb!

Sorry to hear about DH being ill again @piscofrisco he sounds like he may be burned out. In fact you both do as you've both been poorly on a monthly basis all winter. Your immune systems are telling you something my lovely. I'll keep my fingers crossed for a lotto win this week and we will get you set up with your own lovely little care farm

I have a strict cut off point in the evening, and I've just set out my night time reading on the bedside table alongside my candle and moisturising rituals.

Year round Nigel Slater discussion thread - Part 3
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martha79 · 01/03/2026 17:38

What a lovely bedside collection @RainbowZebraWarrior

Nice morning out here to the city farm with lunch at the cafe. Here's one of the sheep who is due lambs before too long, but was having a good Sunday morning snooze in the meantime. There are definitely baby goats and pigs on the way too.

Afternoon on the sofa reading a bit more of 'Toast' then dozing off to an audiobook.

Year round Nigel Slater discussion thread - Part 3
ExquisiteDresses · 01/03/2026 18:27

Lovely bedside table @RainbowZebraWarrior . One of my NYRs was to start making more effort with foot amd handcream, lipbalm, cuticle oil etc so those are on my bedside table. I have an essential oil diffuser rather than candles because my cats jump up there, my current favourite is Neals Yard Women's Balance blend.

Year round Nigel Slater discussion thread - Part 3
martha79 · 02/03/2026 09:42

That's lovely @DameProfessorIDareSay

Lots of blossom has suddenly appeared here, especially the hawthorn, and I've got a wren just outside singing away this morning.

DameProfessorIDareSay · 02/03/2026 09:45

As we were heading for the beach yesterday I saw so much blossom on trees in people’s gardens, it seems to have appeared quite suddenly following the warmish sunny day we had last week.

I was amused to see a wren bobbing about in my little outdoor Christmas tree this weekend, we usually have rather more appropriate robins in there!

petitpasta · 02/03/2026 09:57

Lovely read @DameProfessorIDareSay thanks for sharing

RainbowZebraWarrior · 02/03/2026 11:32

Morning all!

I was just having a lovely time down at the beach earlier when my neighbour rang me ro tell me their shed roof was in my garden. (The wind is crazy today as it often is on the NE coast of England)

Anyway, as I was pretty much done, I headed home and there's not too much damage apart from a large branch snapped off an acer.

Such fun!

Year round Nigel Slater discussion thread - Part 3
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RainbowZebraWarrior · 02/03/2026 11:41

I now have a cuppa and am.catching up properly. Gosh, I am rather windswept. I got a lot of funny looks as I was the only lunatic one down the beach without a coat on.

I am going to save that lovely looking article for when I have a quiet 15 mins waiting for DD to come out of school later. Thanks @DameProfessorIDareSay

Great minds @ExquisiteDresses I also love Neals Yeard and just out of shot in that picture from yesterday is their frankincense moisture cream. It's divine.

Aww @martha79 Lovely sheep! I remember visiting our city farm as a child and being chosen to bottle feed one of the baby lambs. A wonderful experience that started a lifelong obsession with nature and the countryside.

I had a kestrel in my garden last night just before sunset. Of course it buggered off as soon as I tried to take a photo, but Merlin captured it.

Went to Lidl yesterday (against my better judgement) as my best pal said they are doing 5 packs of seeds for a quid. Well, naturally they had completely sold out. I was reliably informed that they are having more delivered today so I'll nip back and have a look.

Year round Nigel Slater discussion thread - Part 3
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RainbowZebraWarrior · 02/03/2026 11:43

Here's a couple of pics. Crocus at NT Wallington Hall and the beach an hour ago. It doesn't quite depict how wild it was.

Year round Nigel Slater discussion thread - Part 3
Year round Nigel Slater discussion thread - Part 3
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Markknopflersheadband · 02/03/2026 12:43

Gorgeous spring day here today. Actually sat out in the sun this morning with a cup of tea - such a lovely feeling after months of grey. So many daffodils out now in the village and the blossom is coming through all of a sudden as well. Love this time of year!

petitpasta · 02/03/2026 15:16

I am working from home and there's a weird yellow round thing in the sky. Can anyone identify it? Should I be concerned? 🤣

It's rather lovely and I wish I wasn't writing a spectacularly dull business case and could enjoy it instead.

martha79 · 02/03/2026 16:26

It's definitely not the weather for working @petitpasta!

That's quite the selection of birds @RainbowZebraWarrior. I remember feeding lambs as a kid too - we used to stay on the same caravan park in the Lake District every holiday and someone connected with it had sheep. You can pay to do it at one of our local park/ farm places but it's always very well booked up! I saw another place was advertising piglet cuddling too. Do piglets like being cuddled?

You've inspired me to dig out my hand cream stash - I've got loads as people keep giving me it and I don't actually use it, I don't like the feel of it. But I'm sure I can make an effort to use it on my feet and dry knees etc. I did buy one for myself just because I like the smell - it's the M&S Apothecary 'Warmth' which smells really comforting to me.

SheherazadesSeasonalNonsense · 02/03/2026 17:36

I'm very envious of everybody with sun! Grey and drizzle here today as per usual. But I've been working so at least I wasn't sad about being stuck indoors.
Popped down to my parents in the south-east this weekend and they are quite far ahead of us (although we too have blossom out since the one sunny day last week, like @DameProfessorIDareSay ). I saw magnolias in full bloom down there!

sueelleker · 02/03/2026 17:43

martha79 ·My favourite hand creams are the Crabtree and Evelyn ones. They absorb well, and come in a huge range of scents. Of course, they're no longer available on the high street; but |I can sometimes get gift boxes of assorted fragrances in T. K. Maxx. So I stock up when I see them.

piscofrisco · 02/03/2026 18:09

Evening all. A lovely day here too, and I’ve spent the day at work happily welding the Krishan garden with the Co farmers in the sun. I even removed a layer of fleece at one point. Daffs daffing, blossoms blossoming, our Ewes looking sudddenly huge with lambs and our orphaned lambs gambolling about all over the place!
What a joy! Came home and walked the Dogs in the Light for the first time.
my bedside table is covered in various supplements and unread books.
what’s that Peter Kay book like @ExquisiteDresses? I love him.
lovely crocuses RZW. I look forward to your lotto win :) I believe you are right about DH but he won’t hear it. He has to go to Paris tonight for a meeting tomorrow and I’m very cross with him for going as he really isn’t well at all. Silly.
here are some orphaned lambs to grace the thread. We have been enjoying bottle feeding them, and they are growing by the minute!

Year round Nigel Slater discussion thread - Part 3
CrushingOnRubies · 02/03/2026 19:08

@RainbowZebraWarriorthat lawn of crocuses looks beautiful

@martha79I love the M&S apocathary range.

doing a very brave thing this evening. Going to the local theatre last minute on my own for a song a long pop song thing. Excited but nervous

RainbowZebraWarrior · 02/03/2026 21:10

piscofrisco · 02/03/2026 18:09

Evening all. A lovely day here too, and I’ve spent the day at work happily welding the Krishan garden with the Co farmers in the sun. I even removed a layer of fleece at one point. Daffs daffing, blossoms blossoming, our Ewes looking sudddenly huge with lambs and our orphaned lambs gambolling about all over the place!
What a joy! Came home and walked the Dogs in the Light for the first time.
my bedside table is covered in various supplements and unread books.
what’s that Peter Kay book like @ExquisiteDresses? I love him.
lovely crocuses RZW. I look forward to your lotto win :) I believe you are right about DH but he won’t hear it. He has to go to Paris tonight for a meeting tomorrow and I’m very cross with him for going as he really isn’t well at all. Silly.
here are some orphaned lambs to grace the thread. We have been enjoying bottle feeding them, and they are growing by the minute!

Beautiful wee babies ❤️ (though not wee for long, as you already know)

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RainbowZebraWarrior · 02/03/2026 21:13

CrushingOnRubies · 02/03/2026 19:08

@RainbowZebraWarriorthat lawn of crocuses looks beautiful

@martha79I love the M&S apocathary range.

doing a very brave thing this evening. Going to the local theatre last minute on my own for a song a long pop song thing. Excited but nervous

Hope you had a lovely time with the song a long a pop a long (I'm not actually sure what one of those is, but hope it was lovely anyway)

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CrushingOnRubies · 02/03/2026 22:36

RainbowZebraWarrior · 02/03/2026 21:13

Hope you had a lovely time with the song a long a pop a long (I'm not actually sure what one of those is, but hope it was lovely anyway)

It wasn’t actually pop music it was songs from the musicals. Think 2 hours of west end karaoke. Got a call from dm saying that they and a friend couldn’t go at 5:50 this evening. Show started at 7:30… so mad rush to get ready but had a fantastic time

RainbowZebraWarrior · 03/03/2026 07:22

CrushingOnRubies · 02/03/2026 22:36

It wasn’t actually pop music it was songs from the musicals. Think 2 hours of west end karaoke. Got a call from dm saying that they and a friend couldn’t go at 5:50 this evening. Show started at 7:30… so mad rush to get ready but had a fantastic time

Pleased you had a fantastic time. It sounds like a lot of fun.

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RainbowZebraWarrior · 03/03/2026 07:29

Morning all.

Gosh it's cold and mildly frosty. Hope we all get to see the sun today. Definitely looks like potential. If that's the case then I am going to make hay while the sun shines and get down to the beach then in the garden. I eventually got some seeds from Lidl yesterday but they are basic, so I've put an order in this morning for some specific things I was missing; sweet peas in hot, vibrant colours and Welsh onions as well as lobelia in any colour other than dark blue (i love the more turquoise blue one and the vibrant fuschia colour) I've also put my dahlia order in this morning. Only my herb order to complete. Just waiting for a couple of sage varieties to come into stock.

I saw the most delightful little field mouse nibbling on a sunflower seed that had fallen from the bird feeder last night. Again it was just before sunset. It seems to be when everything comes out to play! I heard him scuttling around in the dead leaves before I saw him, then he ran back under the ivy when I got my phone out.

Anyway, best get on. I keep meaning to say thanks to @martha79 for the beef stew and jacket potato idea. Im making some today in the slow cooker then I'm going to make beef and cheese pie with the leftovers tomorrow. Gosh I miss Aus and NZ pies!

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EphemeraleEudemonia · 03/03/2026 08:27

Sunday saw Mercury, Venus, Saturn, Jupiter, Uranus and Neptune align, so much sky gazing and today is the rising Worm moon or first spring moon, which for us signals urgency to cook up the last of any unpreserved vegetables and fruit laid down last year.

Knowing finances would be awfully thin this year I doubled the usual efforts and we've done well but it brings with it more work now.

As we're on a bit of a frugality drive, actually ended up initially making up two base mezes for the week, out of preserved tomatoes and peppers, and an attempt at a pepper hummus without chick peas for a legume intolerant visitor. (Consistency isn't right if anyone has any ideas other than more tahini, or cornflour...)
Then some chestnut flour based tofu and mushroom wraps with pepper meze, and preserved tomatoes, and two big bread and butter puddings with last weeks left over chestnut flour bread.
Mushrooms where gathered and the tofu made out of 20p due date milk, so main costs where tahini and sultanas. So off a good start, but if enough time hope to later make a batch of red cabbage and apple in pomegranate molasses.

Finally replaced a torn section of skirt (wheelchair eats them) and time consuming but rescued two garments that I spilled wax all over making candles.
Have started making a heavy duty apron out of various black denim jeans repair material lying around, in the hope of doing a little less damage to my clothes. Feeling vaguely virtuous instead of just plain broke!

Yesterday brought a little flock of Great Tits accompanied by two very tuneful yellow hammers who hopped around for some time singing beautifully.
But this morning was a rude early awakening by a flock of noisy gulls wheeling around high and low, that have hung around, and the small birds have only just started to raise their voices..

Embarking on next three days of trying to provide workshops on a very thin frayed shoestring and hope it results in finding funding.

@RainbowZebraWarrior thanks for the seeds heads up, (all info you might have appreciated) might try my luck if passing a Lidle.

@piscofrisco Any mileage in rainy day fleece felting? Have been idly wondering about this after realizing many here only know wool as balls of acrylic...

@CrushingOnRubies Well done, glad it was fun. (though now have an operatic "Carpe Dium, Carpe Dium" earworm)

@DameProfessorIDareSay Thank you for the article, enjoyable read.

Year round Nigel Slater discussion thread - Part 3
EphemeraleEudemonia · 03/03/2026 08:32

RZW Field mice are very sweet. I think there's something about us wanting to capture images that small creatures just sense the 'capture' part off, no matter how calmly and un-threateningly we move.

martha79 · 03/03/2026 08:54

Morning all, terrible sleep here and I have a full-day online event to run. Hooray. At least I'm mostly off-camera. And the sun is shining, not that I'll get out in it. The full moon looked wonderful yesterday evening before the clouds swallowed it up.

@CrushingOnRubies musical sing a long sounds brilliant, glad you enjoyed it!

@EphemeraleEudemonia that all looks and sounds wonderful. I struggle to get normal hummus the right texture, so I'm not sure what might help alternative hummus.

@RainbowZebraWarrior enjoy your stew! Mine lasted several days, and I'm still working my way through the potatoes.

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