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!

@petitpasta that sounds marvellous and what a prize!

Enjoy soestrene green @martha79 Pre Covid pandemic (& blasted cancer) I went on holiday a few years running with my friend. We had watched the Durrells on tv and decided to go to Kalami in Corfu for a week, taking some Durrell reading with us. We had a wonderful time. I’d love to go back one day.

dh and I have one more day in this little paradise. We have decided we are anacondas today, eating one large meal and then lying in the sun to digest ! We’ve had a gentle walk in the park opposite to admire the plants and lizards. We must brace ourselves and leave out layers for our lengthy trip home tomorrow (1st world problem I know).

We had a marvellous tour yesterday, partly volcanic but also around some of the ancient towns in this area. Fantastic architecture and some gently restored properties - v Nigel.

I also feel the need for a detailed description of the swishy ball gown 😁

It's pomegranate noir scent. I haven't taken it out of the box but given that my favourite perfume is the pomegranate dupe from Aldi I think I am going to love it

Photos of swishy dress! It felt extra special as it was 5 dress sizes smaller than a similar dress I wore to a previous ball two years ago. In fact this was a little bit on the big side.

Wow, that is a beautiful dress, I love the embroidered bodice. It reminds me of a dress I once had, except mine had a straight velvet skirt so wasn't swishy.

Oh Pomegranet Noir is my absolute fave from Jo Malone. I get these tester cards every time Im in Fenwick and liberally spray them. They then either get popped in a wardrobe, drawer or my handbag, scenting things beautifully! 😊

Enjoy your day of Anaconda-ing @Bimblesalong and hope it's not too much of a shock to the system when you return. That area of Corfu is one of my favourite places on earth, and also where I originally read the Durrells. I used to visit twice a year, but it's awfully hilly now. The last time I went was when I was pregnant with DD. One time, I enjoyed the boat trip around that part of the coastline so much, I did it 5 days running. There's a reason why some of the rich and famous have villas tucked away around there.

We are the regional swarm collectors too @leporello but sometimes it is a curse. Its always around 7pm on a sunny evening when you get The Call. We ended up with something many extra colonies two years ago it was crazy. The phone was ringing every day!

I forgot to say, that I wish I had some big enough pots for the two trees in waiting @EphemeraleEudemonia I put a silver birch in the only large pot I had last autumn, so that one is also waiting. They will get there eventually

Adding to the Corfu chat this was my absolute favourite book about Corfu that i also deliberately bought and took to read whilst there.

https://www.worldofbooks.com/en-gb/products/house-in-corfu-book-emma-tennant-9780099422532?sku=GOR001236213&gad_source=1&gad_campaignid=19553277260&gclid=EAIaIQobChMIs4yT-7fHkgMVfJpQBh2FOARVEAQYASABEgJ7L_D_BwE

I love Gerald Durrell's writing, it's a real comfort read for me, but have never watched the series, it's on my very long list of things to watch when I have time - although I'm not sure when that will be!
Had a lovely day today, did a yoga class this morning while DH took DD4 to her little dance class, then we left DD with my parents and had a very rare 'date' together, lunch out at a gorgeous pub. Absolutely stuffed and feel a bit like an anaconda myself! Certainly won't be needing another meal today.

Ooh @Bimblesalong that sounds like a perfect last day of holidays.

@Markknopflersheadband sounds like a great day too.

I want to go to Greece now... I've been to Corfu but to the South, very touristy bit but out of season and we did wander to see some interesting wilder bits. And did a boat trip to Paxos which was beautiful.

However, I have been in the British rain instead, but my longest trip out of the house in a while and it was nice - Sostrene Grene (I bought some tea, a candle and some birthday presents for other people), macaroni cheese in a cafe for lunch, wandering in a bookshop and some other little gift shops I'd not been in before, then to the museum gift shop to sniff some more candles and a brief foray round one of the exhibitions to admire cutlery.

I've got random bits to use up this evening, so let's see what sausages, chicory and onion marmalade is like chucked in a tray in the oven...

@RainbowZebraWarrior seeing a beekeeping book in the bookshop reminded me that I inherited these from my grandmother - she had a (not very well looked after, I believe) hive in the background that nobody else was allowed near. I remember the bees were bad-tempered and I don't remember ever seeing any honey!

we have a jo malone shop in town here and I love going in and having a sniff. (And never buying anything as I can’t justify the expense! I’m sure the staff love me).
that’s very funny re your charity shop perfect find RZW as I did the same today. I got it in my head that I wanted a hot pink dinner candle to go in an orange candle holder I’ve got and couldn’t find one anywhere until I went into the Mind dh shop and there were a packet of 4 for 80p!
Lovley dress petitpasta. And 5 sizes smaller is a fantastic achievement!
I hope you got your snowdrops Leporello. It has rained solidly here all day. Grey, wet, mud, and repeat. Here is my bright candle and holder combo which is brightening the living room at least .
ive just knocked up a smashing pisco sour. Fiddly but my most favourite tipple ever.

So pleased you had a lovely time in your gorgeous swishy dress @petitpasta, and what a piece of luck winning such a super and VN raffle prize - perhaps so many friends from this thread wishing you a wonderful evening influenced the draw of your winning ticket!
Always fascinating to read about your culture and traditions @EphemeraleEudemonia - hope you’re successful in the new opportunity.
So many interesting posts and photos, too many to mention; this is such a lovely thread to look forward to reading every day.

I love the Durells. The TV show has me dreaming of going to Crete. Need to read the books

having a lovely weekend so far. Last night tried out a recently reopened pub g&ts by a fireside after a hectic week was perfect.

then today, went to a tapas/ cocktail bar for lunch. My colleagues got me a voucher for my birthday and had a lovely fish platter sharer and cocktails.

just been to a pub for rugby and to catch up with a friend. Now home with a candle from habitat burning ( rose amber & velvet)! Dp is cooking a steak.

is anyone else watching the Winter Olympics dreaming of the slopes and the apres ski warm fire after.

Evening all, well thanks to this thread I have been out and bought a trough to plant lettuce seeds in this afternoon. I am an allotment holder but have never had much luck up there because of slugs and snails, same in patio pots but I have put this in my greenhouse with clear plastic cover from a similar size propagator and will keep an eye on the frost warnings (I can always bring it into the kitchen at night but there isn’t 24 hour room for it.

Also supermarket daffodils, here are my latest bunch they are are so cheerful aren’t they

I've just ordered some lettuce plants from our local online farmers market. It's a fab little market and you can order from the butcher's, market garden, veg shop, cheese shop and bakery and the organiser collates all the orders and delivers a box of things to you at the weekend. I noticed the market gardener had 6 lettuce plants for £2.40 so I thought I'd give them a go.

I read My Family and Other Animals an awfully long time ago... It didn't sound too bad a way to spend a life.

Unable to sleep so thought I'd show you an amazing (for me) charity shop find from yesterday that I'm about to tuck into. It's the original screenplay, which interests me.

@CrushingOnRubiescorfu! For the Durrells. But Crete is excellent - we went last summer and liked it so much we booked the exact same villa again for this year! We have never been back to the same place twice before.

@CrushingOnRubies , I always enjoy the Winter Olympics. Our snowdrop trip was rained off so I spent the afternoon watching ski jumping and curling instead, although I did make it out for a very blustery walk in between downpours.

Still maximum gloom and rain here, sigh.

Good Morning Nigelistas THE SUN IS OUT HERE!!!, its lovely, it wont last but oh my word, its so nice for now.

We are going to Crete this summer, my first trip to any Greek island and I'm so looking forward to it.

Have a wonderful Sunday everyone, it's my favourite day of the week, a whole day with DH (well until he goes to watch the superbowl tonight, a big yawn for me so it's antique roadshow and call the midwife and nice glass of Pinot, lovely)

I’ve just been out for a walk for two hours and it didn’t rain!!! There was even about 10 minutes of sun! Bit of rain this afternoon I think. But how lovely to be out and not get a face full of water for once!
i love the Winter Olympics. In fact that’s all I’m going to do for the rest of the day, apart from a bit of meal prep for the week I think. A nice lazy Sunday-just the ticket!
Have a lovely day all

Classic Cornish weather on 15 minutes of beautiful sunshine then 30 minutes of torrential rain. so once you realise it’s nice weather and got sorted it’s raining again

It has not rained here at all today! We even had a hint of sunshine and the sky is light bright grey rather than black. First time in weeks. Back to the yuk tomorrow I think but it has been so good to see it

The sun has really tried here - it was briefly bright-cloudy - but back to rain again this afternoon.

Lovely daffodils @ExquisiteDresses - I can't have them in the house as the cats try to eat them, but I bought a bunch yesterday for a friend who popped in for a visit today (hid them in the fridge overnight so they didn't get nibbled).

Had a late lunch which consisted of roasting all the vegetables I had hanging around, and making some gravy, and am now semi-dozing on the sofa. It feels very Sunday-ish.

A friend of mine always goes to Elounda in Crete every year. I have to say, it looks beautiful, and very similar to Corfu. I have a real love of the Greek Islands, but annoyingly, we have so few flights there from Newcastle airport these days. Back in the 80s we would fly to Mykonos (then get the ferry to Naxos) and could also fly to Athens then get the ferry to Poros or Spetses. Some absolutely amazing holidays were had in my late teens, including my first non parent holidays. We used to fly Dan Air. Anyone remember them? Ah, happy days!

This looks absolutely amazing. What a great find! Hope you enjoyed your very early morning candle lit read.

I managed two whole hours of the Jarvis Cocker book yesterday evening (until my Dad knocked at my door with more honey jars for me to sterilise)