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!

@EphemeraleEudemonia totally agree with @RainbowZebraWarrior I had to have a word with my surgery to ensure I got the loading dose of B12 - 6 jabs over 2 weeks. Now I have a booster every 8 weeks (it was every 12).

Please bring your hobby horses and ride them, I need them. I'm not a natural at asking for help, but when I do, often feel dismissed though tbf I got a completely different response this time, mainly because apparently you shouldn't be driving with those levels.
I have a serious neurological condition and things have got a lot worse over the the last year, repeat investigations for possible early onset dementia, yet no one ever checked my B12 levels. Physical difference was palpable a few hours after the first jab.
I was on six weeks of jabs, but its had to pause as I'm a dripping mess. @Bimblesalong I'm absolutely praying they will do boosters later. I suspect I'll be told I have to go private if it's an ongoing need. I've already received a notification that one medication I need will be changed to a cheaper one to help offset recent costs.

@RainbowZebraWarrior I'm so sorry your DD had to go through that. I don't understand the constant blood tests if nothing gets picked up until it's at crisis levels.
The only positive thing about the flu has been a massive sleep surge instead of insomnia, but I'm also aware I'm loosing life to it. Awful to have to watch your DD sleeping her way through unnecessarily.
My problem isn't my diet, though we have to go through am I sure it's not my fault every time, it's absorption. My potassium and magnesium levels are well down again. I already suffer bile acid malabsorption and the attitudes around me are 'well you wont be getting younger and you've done well to get this far.' But that's gone on for twenty years. The attitude is I should be able to afford an awful lot of things I just can't. A significant part of my income already goes to disability.After seven months of begging that there's something very wrong with my ankle/shin (blazing hot, radiating pain, and looking like a lumpy pudding) and keeping it raised isn't healing it, I have finally been awarded a scan in the new year. I do feel guilty as lots of scarce resources have been thrown at me to keep me alive previously, but what's the point of it all, if an unnecessarily downward spiral of eroding quality of life is then ignored? I feel very selfish, but I have so much I want to do. Sorry, a very me, me, me, grumpy post.

You and we are all allowed to let off steam now and again @EphemeraleEudemonia . Some of us are just overdealt with challenging hands at times throughout our lives. When I was diagnosed with cancer, I remember sitting at the piano and playing, tearful and saying to myself “what a bloody waste!” It is good that we value our lives and our talents ourselves, as well as recognising the significant contributions we have left to make to others - and to ourselves.

Spent a lovely evening on a carol train tonight on the local steam railway. There was a silver band on the train and we all got off at every station and they played a few carols, then everyone piled back onto the train to go to the next station. Naturally, the weather was foul, but we still had fun - aided, I suspect, by the flask of gluhwein we had brought with us! The mug in the picture came from a gluhwein stand at the Xmas market in Munich many years ago. We have a set of them and I love them!

Oh, that sounds lovely @Confusedmeanderings and I love your mug. We have a light up steam train locally and it is magic seeing it go by (there are lots of good viewpoints) but never been on it as its ££ and more aimed at children I think.

Hi, and how is everyone doing? All is well here, and we've had a relatively restful day. I'm just wondering what I can do with leftovers. Envelop in pastry? Transform into Soup? Hmm. It's definitely the Last Day for Leftovers as far as I'm concerned. I'd like to move on to something new after today, I reckon.

I have just spent an enjoyable half hour moving things around in the far corner of my bedroom. I bought an extra candle lamp which is now installed on the windowsill and looks and smells amazing (some sort of Aldi Diptyque Rose dupe candle)

I've just been going through a bag of vintage jewellery that DD bought from a chap at the market last week. She's got some cracking pieces. We only found him recently. He has 3 tables. One covered in vintage badges, one seasonal (so candles and Christmas decorations recently) then a huge table with hundreds if not thousands of pieces of vintage jewellery. All £1 each, mostly absolute tat, but a few good finds. DD has gifted me this lovely long seed pearl necklace from the stash as mine broke recently. Considering she bought 24 items and he only charged her £16, she's gotten some real bargains!

I love that kind of stall!

We've had a very lazy day today, the first where we've had nothing to do for weeks! Christmas Day we were hosting and yesterday we were out visiting. Tomorrow is clear too, but I think we need to get out and get some fresh air so I feel a trip to the nearest NT property may be in order - a walk in the grounds and a visit to the café should hit the spot!

A lovely necklace, it’s amazing what you can find sometimes on those sort of stalls.

Bit gutted! It was the pets Carol service at the local cathedral today. It clashed with a concert with choir , been very torn about which to attend. I do make the right decision but still annoyed.

Hope everyone is having a lovely Christmas. Mine has been great, busy but great.

Just popping back to say sorry for lack of posting recently, life has been hectic and I even abandoned Nigel halfway through December, after all these years some of it still makes me smile but it doesn’t draw me in the way it used to. Hoping we can all carry on in gentle Nigel style in 2026.

Is this where all you VN Christmas bods will be residing? I need more posh candle info, I'm getting all FOMO!

Not sure what is New Years NVN or VN, but I doubt we'll still be awake at midnight, although there might be noisy fireworks at the pub in the next village waking us up! So Happy New Year everyone. :)

Bledhen nowydh da/ Happy New Year in Cornish

@sbplanetwaa very tempted yesterday, a local shop had Christmas St Eval candles on offer. Not sure if it’s just that shop or more widespread

Hello all and Happy New Year / blwyddyn newydd dda (Welsh, very similar to the Cornish diallect @CrushingOnRubies )

Edited as pressed post too soon

@sbplanet there is an up to 50% off sale over on the St Eval wedbute. There are also come offers on at White Company. I don't buy either any more, but there's a sale on my current favourites from a lovely company called Toasted Crumpet. I can also highly recommend Isle of Skye candles and Sheltand Soap Company who make gorgeous candles among other things. I'm personally hunting for bargain Aldi dupes on Vinted (Not At All Nigel)

Went to the lights at Lost Garden on Heligan this evening. Here is a small selection of the photos I took. If you are ever in this part of the world at this time of year, well worth a visit

I went to the Christmas display at my local NT property this morning (better late than never) and it was lovely. I sat outside by myself in the sun having a hot chocolate afterwards even though it was only 2°C and it was blissful.

I haven't been able to go anywhere since coming back from Christmas markets in mid December as have just been so ill, I've mainly been stuck in bed or being dragged around hospitals for tests, which hasn't been at all in the spirit of the season.
Pictures and this and th CC thread have been much appreciated, though I've also damaged my computor, and today's been the first time I've been able to post properly, and it may not last.

Have been working to be well enough to cope as today is our Christmas day so the finishing touches are going on our tree, while most are taking theirs down.(Always an odd sensation) It's going to have to be a scaled back affair as we're not out of the woods, but I'm grateful to be able to do it at all tbh.
Will post pics later if able. (computer is very cobbled together)

So sorry to hear of how poorly you've been @EphemeraleEudemonia hope you can enjoy today. I think it's great that you're making the effort to celebrate, doesn't matter that it's late, they're all memories that we create and we can always tweak them to suit our own situations. Lots of love xx

Oh @EphemeraleEudemonia you really are having a tough time. I hope you managed to celebrate!

I know this chat has gone a bit quiet. But I know you lot appreciate Photos of the northern lights. They have reached southern Cornwall.

I've just dashed outsied after seeing them in another thread but total cloud cover here. Beautiful photos @CrushingOnRubies

Oh and they're on the news now

Wow that’s wonderful @CrushingOnRubies ita a huge storm. We have them up here too in Chester.

Well, I went out repeatedly till bedtime and total cloud. Annoying as there were photos online from as close as 10 miles away, can't control the weather.

Hope all are OK, it would be nice to keep this chat going. I've been a bit overwhelmed with elderly parent stuff recently but plodding along.

maybe people will come back and the thread will
be more active once the Christmas Chronicles thread has finished in a couple of weeks

Yes, I was thinking that. I really haven’t kept up with those ones this year, or got further than mid Dec with the book, the novelty has worn off of it a a bit now. But I do still like to channel a bit of Nigel, follow his insta, read his recipes etc