The Nigel Slater Christmas Chronicles Readalong 2025 - Part 3

[RainbowZebraWarrior]

Hello all, and welcome to Part 3. 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)

For anyone new, it's a challenge to see of you can pick up the book as 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!

Oh you absolute superstar! That book sounds amazing, and it's on Audible. I'm off to download it now as I've not found anything decent on there for months.

Edited to add: I'm very interested in micro climates as my village sits in a bit of a valley. We get a lot of mists settling in the fields, and frost / snow / ice all seems to hand around longer than elsewhere.

Why didn't I think of this? I have a spare candle warmer still in the box. I need to find a place to put it so that will be my job for this morning.

27 December

The prospect of soup

Christmas used to be longer. The twelve days were truly celebrated with feasting and merriment right up to Twelfth Night, the feast of Epiphany on January 6.

Early morning day of Christmas peace vibes to all

H and I fell asleep on sofas last night so I am downstairs already so might as well do some gentle jobs (washing machine and coffee) before the house stirs.

I can deal with waking up to fairy lights.

I think the house would prefer another buffet day to soup but I adore tinned beans (you know butter/pinto etc) velvet, almost meaty in texture (I think not eaten meat for 40+ years so I really can’t remember)

Might put the bread maker on, and I might do a bean soup (I need spice, garlic and fibre)
We have a trifle to finish making - and decorating - for later - additional teens and a few games of darts this afternoon.

I am going to start my Christmas jigsaw and savour a glass or two of red later. After a morning of delivering and hopefully MIL going home, she lives other end of village it’s not a problem her here but we need to do today not entertain. If possible - I don’t mind but you know.

Our Christmas Day was easy, fun, teens all good.
We enjoyed neighbours with small kids and conversation yesterday - I forgot we have cleaning sprays not up high - so fascinating when you are 2! We did get the small amount of toys out I have saved from previous crackers so we’re racing wind up robins and attempting to play jingle bells on numbered separate xylophone strips (which is always good fun).

I have caught up now and hope these slower days for some are restorative.

And I agree with Nigel, no Boxing Day sales for us, we have enough. More than enough.

OK then time for coffee.

I was just wracking my brains trying to remember why I feel in need of a Boxing Day today and why yesterday didn't tick that box.
Then I remembered driving DS to nearest shopping centre and to Boots for a throat swab. He tested negative for bacterial infection so we left with some throat spray. At home I made a rather tasty blended turkey and veg soup as he could hardly swallow.

Our guests have left early this morning for an other side of family gathering so we are back to people who usually live here so that means less hosting and fewer dishes! And relax...

Waking up to fairy lights sounds good @frozendaisy as does 'Spice, Garlic and Fibre' which rather sounds like a Nigel chapter. I am thoroughly sick of the sight of roast potatoes (as someone else also said on this thread this time last year) so I would welcome a bean soup and some garlic bread. I've never been keen on the image of today's soup though. It looks too dark and murky for my liking.

I have taken charge this morning. My mother bought me a kitchen clock for Christmas which has different bird song on each hour. It's supposed to operate on a 24 hr basis whereby the birdsong only plays during 'daylight' hours of 6am to 6pm. You can see where this is going, right? I was awoken at 2am to the sound of a demented cuckoo, 3am to a rather angry sounding barn owl, 4am to the somewhat broken chirps of a chaffinch, and it went on... I have moved it to the conservatory and fixed and cleaned the lovely kitchen clock I thought was broken. The darned bird clock just went off at 8am in the conservatory. It's so loud. There's no volume control that I can see. Batteries may have to be removed. Someone was having a giraffe when they came up with the idea!

Anyway, Operation Organised has begun. I have stopped the months of procrastinating and finally ordered a new TV which is coming tomorrow, and a dishwasher arriving on NYE. How exciting! I've also ordered all of next year's Christmas cards in the Whistlefish and East End Press sales.

Sorry Nigel, but I do love a bargain. We may be popping into the city at lunchtime as DD has Christmas money that is clearly burning a hole in her pockets.

@RainbowZebraWarrior yeo that modern day cuckoo clock would be silenced!

I love a bargain but not enough to leave the house. So that’s that! Though I would cheerfully go to the garden centres and place like The Range for cut price decorations!

We have DH’s family coming today, so it needs a bit of proper cooking. We will have turkey/ham pie, with cold turkey ham, a cheeseboard, salads, roast potatoes also available.

I did make the turkey stock yesterday.

The star event this year has been the ham. I used bay, juniper berries and a star anise in the water and the ham stock and fat were divine. The ham is also delicious, with quince purée and brown sugar as the glaze.

Quince and rose jelly and pickled quince on the table, too.

After this we go quiet until Sunday 4th, when we invite people over for a last hurrah before the decorations come down. It’s a good time for a party- people have recovered from Christmas and are feeling a bit bleurgh about facing the long dark months ahead. Catering is just puddings. A buffet table of puddings for people to help themselves. Drinks in the kitchen.

That kitchen clock would be right up my street- for about a week! FiL used to have one- surely there is a setting? Maybe you want the ‘not 24 hour’ setting?

Haha. You're supposed to set the time to 5.50 before putting in the batteries. Then you put the batteries in, allow it to 'chime' at 6, 7, 8 and 9 then set it to the correct time. All apparently will magically work perfectly on the 24 hour setting then. Except it doesn't. And the corresponding birds illustrated on each hour ate not the ones you hear (it's out by 180 degrees IYSWIM) so I think it's just, well, crap, really.

Waking up to fairy lights sounds lovely. Waking up to wayward cuckoos less so! This clock sounds like a step-up from the 'sunrise alarm' thing a friend gave me last Christmas - it's supposed to gently fade at night-time, and gently light up in the morning, accompanied by subtle birdsong or a tinkling stream... what it actually does is randomly light up the room like a searchlight and blast out badly-recorded noises.

I like the sound of a butter bean soup - wonder if I've got any in the cupboard. I've eaten all the turkey and potatoes but do have quite a lot of parsnips still.

Am resisting the candle sales as I've got a lot of wintery wax melts to get through - hopefully when they're done it'll be time for some new more spring-like scents.

My st Eval have been hit and miss too this year. Some very strong and some barely registered at all. @RainbowZebraWarriorhas tempted me over to the toaster crumpet winter noir in the sale but it won’t arrive for a few days yet.

we had a lazy day yesterday-just DH and I. A 5 mile walk then home and we didn’t really move again until bed time. Felt bad as it was his birthday but he didn’t want to do a thing and I was happy to comply.
we have friends coming this evening to stay the night (my best friend of 31 years and her new boyfriend who we have never met) so we are tidying up this morning, including going to the laundrette as the washing machine won’t be fixed until well in to the new year.
feel terrible saying it but it’s actually been quite nice having no kids here for a few days. The peace and quiet and being able to laze around guilt free!
have a lovely day all-it is Saturday? I’ve lost count!

Yes @piscofrisco it's Saturday. I'm off to work in a while, I work behind the bar in a couple of pubs, I really enjoy it which is just as well as DH and I are looking at a very different way of life for the next couple of years, DH has had his own business for many years and earnt large amounts, AI is taking over and the work has gone so at the grand old age of 55 he has taken an entry level job (with good prospects) so we will be on a very reduced income. We are very lucky as we own our home and have very little outgoings on an everyday basis but we will now have bugger all for fun and frivolity. I'm seeing this as a 'lifestyle challenge', we have everything anyone could want, a lovely home, a nice car, wardrobes full of lovely clothes etc. My challenge will be to make our lives comfy, homely and peaceful. I can do this!

That sounds incredibly challenging @thebabessavedme but you seem to be approaching it all with a great attitude and positive midset. When I split with DDs dad when she was a baby, I lived hand to mouth pretty much for about 10 years. It's only been the last 2 or 3 years that I've been better off. Like you, I owned my home and was mortgage free. This was definitely the saving grace. I found that I rather relished the challenge of budgeting and was rather proud at my ability to still provide. This is when the Christmas bargain threads were my saviour!

Speaking of DDs Dad, we've just had him here for an hour and a half for the annual gift exchange. DD got everything she wanted As I bought it all and he just paid me That is the extent of my 'hosting' for the festive period. We showed him the crazy clock and he cycled through the bird sounds trying to match them to the actual pictures on the clock. One of them can only be described as what sounds to me like a Pterodactyl. It also appears to feature more than once!

Anyway, if we are talking Bean soups, this is my absolute favourite. Needs plenty of salt and black pepper.

www.deliaonline.com/recipes/collections/easy-meat-free-recipes/tuscan-bean-and-pasta-soup

Isn't it amazing what you find in second hand books? I picked up this lovely book from the charity book table, and tycked inside is a Paris visitors map, a pain pamphlet and a Mary Berry Christmas pull out from 12 years ago. On the back of the MB booklet, there are many doodles and then someone has written down their lottery numbers. It's Saturday. I'm going to have to play these numbers tonight, aren't I?

Definitely @RainbowZebraWarrior - Mary will bring you luck, I'm sure!

That is a big change and challenge @thebabessavedme but no doubt you can do it.

Here's my favourite sales purchase - needed some new bedding and this duvet set was in the Next sale (online). It did remind me of the one time years ago when I decided to 'do' the infamous Next sale properly - turning up to a dark retail park at 5.30am on Boxing Day... never again!

Marvellous stuff @RainbowZebraWarrior may Mary bring merriness!

that is beautiful bedding @martha79

We’ve had another frosty morning. Ds2 was super keen to pop into the city, so I used the opportunity to collect some VN Colton Bassett blue cheese. I can’t say that going shopping is the pleasure it once was, it’s so much nicer to be home.

Awesome cheeseboard @Bimblesalong

@martha79 Lovely duvet. That's a Catherine Lansfield one isn't it? I've got one of hers on my bed at the minute. She does some lovely designs.

Cold and wet here. Not the best for the old joints. Gave the shops the swerve in the end today. A few more restful days called for I think. As we hurtle towards January, my mind is on the garden, so I'm feeling the need to check my seed collection and also my notes of what did and didn't do well this year. I meant to lift the Dahlias, but time and energy ran away, so I need to plan a little bit better this year.

What to have for dinner? I keep opening the fridge door then closing it again. Too much choice and too many leftovers can be a curse at this time of year. I crave more of our tomato glut from a few months ago (which I knew I'd miss dearly)

Also, I wish I'd bought more of these candles. An Aldi Diptyque Rose dupe that is currently scenting the whole house. Well worth a fiver!

@RainbowZebraWarrior do you find the candle warmer works well? In comparison to...well...straight up burning the candle?

@martha79 lovely bedding - I need some new at some point this year.

@Bimblesalong wonderful looking cheeses. I am just waiting for dd1 to shower then we're getting ours out. Several Wensleydale with fruit were chosen this year, alongside Black Bomber and a chilli something.

The Festive Lurgy's hit here - dd1's fine and off out drinking tonight. Dd2's coughing and spluttering all over the place, and their dad has proper flu. I've, thankfully, just got a cough & very tired - I had visions of being turned away from the chemo suite at this morning's appointment!

I took dd1 with me, so we could pop into the Lush sale but it'd all been picked over & there's not much left online either.

Unfortunately, it's dd2's 16th tomorrow - we'll make a fuss of her but she's not feeling it so I've suggested a do-over when she's better.

Merry Christmas all. Turkey curry is simmering and my St Eval tea light is flickering. I enjoyed the candle advent calendar and will be saving a few fir the warmer months (I don't fancy the one that smells of greenhouses yet!) Nigel is nearly caught up with.
We have had 3 trips to the hospital this month now and DS has his cancer surgery on 30th. We are all looking forward to the new year now.
Sorry I have not commented too much, but I have loved reading this thread so far. Xxx

The very best of luck to your DS for his surgery, @IlovetoKnitandRead

Left my mum’s today, but snapped this rather wonderful corner of the garden before we left. I spent most of the time before we departed taking down the decorations we put up this time last week which felt especially sad - I hate taking them down and feel a bit sad to think of mum with no twinkly lights, fortunately we still have the full works up in Paris. Your cheeseboard is magnificent @Bimblesalong - VVN, I am just catching up with his cheese buying dictats on the Eurostar and you appear to have adhered to them perfectly. I’m looking forward to assembling my own cheeseboard when I get back. My problem is not so much picking the cheese as deciding which cheese shop to go to - we have four in our immediate neighbourhood and that’s not including the market where there are several more.

My parents had the same clock @RainbowZebraWarrior and it behaved in the same way! In the end the batteries came out.

We've had a couple of days of grazing on leftovers and now we're beginning to feel like proper meals, so it'll be curry tomorrow.

I got given a wonderful book of essays from the British Library about the development of the book. It's called The Book By Design. It's not a light read, but because the individual essays are not too long, you can dip in and out of it. The images of the different manuscripts are fabulous and there are QR codes to link you to digitised copies of the books discussed.

Hey up. I've been AWOL and wondered how everyone was getting on. I've been laid low in the stomach area since the 20th (DS's birthday, too!) and unable to face most food without horrible gurgling noises and the MOST unpleasant results... 7 days in I can eat 'proper' food again without anything too terrible happening but it's been quite depressing. There's a mountain of cheese in the fridge which I haven't even nibbled, I can count the number of alcoholic drinks I've attempted on one hand, and I'm not even snacking really. All good things for my waistline but it's sort of sad.

Dh did the food shop a couple of days before the 25th because I was at peak nausea and couldn't face the very idea (or breathing on people) and couldn't get a turkey at either Lidl or Waitrose (that didn't cost about £85) so we said sod it and had rare roast beef instead! Well the rest of the family did ...

Since then we've had some lovely walks around the village to enjoy the champagne air (I'm sure it's helping me feel better) and the cold sunshine, and I've seen a friend, now I'm reasonably sure I'm not contagious with whatever it was. Evenings we've mostly been catching up with Stranger Things, ghost stories or Buffy and I'm knitting. So a cosy time is being had, just light on the food. Tomorrow we're driving up to see PIL for a night.

Very best wishes to everyone who's not been well, and especially for those facing Big treatment and unwellness.

28 December

A sweet moment

The books. There are books in the kitchen, books in the study and books in the drawing room. There are books in my satchel, books on my desk and books by my bedside. There are novels and short stories, biographies and diaries, hiakus and travelogues. There are gardening books and poetry and of course there are cook books, though I am far from what you might call a collector.