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 no, hope you soon manage to get properly rid of the lurgy @PricklyBob You must have well and truly had enough of it.

Gosh that all sounds delicious @frozendaisy I'm having leftover crockpot curry with bought in naan bread.

I abandoned the beachcombing idea as the weather was atrocious and the forecast tomorrow is much nicer, so I shall nip down just after high tide in the morning. This fella also throught better of it (he was striding through the car park in the direction of the beach, then turned on his heel and legged it back towards the nature reserve)

I just have to tell you all this! We had a customer come into the antique shop today with a collection of miniature portraits for sale. They had been found hidden in the walls of a bungalow she had just bought. That is intriguing in itself, but then I started researching the previous owner of the bungalow and what an amazing man he was! I might be a little bit in love with him now! He started off as an officer in the navy and was the total opposite of a spit and polish, very polite conventional officer. He had a huge, bushy beard that usually had a couple of sharpened pencils stuck through it and he drank his spirits neat. This did not endear him to his captain and they hated each other! He was once left alone surveying a small islet in the South Atlantic whilst the rest of the ships company had a week's shore leave in Argentina. The Captain was most disappointed to find when they returned to collect him that not only was he hale and hearty, but he had thoroughly enjoyed himself! He was a hydrographer and during the Falklands war converted the survey ship he commanded to a hospital ship and sailed to the Falklands. During one battle he was asked if he could sail into a particularly small and remote inlet and what the quality of the charting for it was like. He replied "naturally, it is excellent - I did it." When returning from the Falklands the ships satnav broke down and they had to navigate home by the stars. When his navigator asked him why he did not seem concerned and had not checked his calculations on the chart, he looked at him over the top of his half moon glasses and said " of course you were right - I taught you." The final snippet I liked was that after his retirement, he could be seen driving through the lanes of Somerset in an open top Lagonda, with the ears of his deerstalker hat and his tweed cape blowing behind him.

What a man! I'm sorry it's a lengthy post and he clearly was NVN, but I have so enjoyed finding out about him!

What a fascinating chap! He sounds a little eccentric. Is there any explanation for the portraits?
We’re having goulash (ish) tonight. With a wagyu brisket I got on offer, and jacket potatoes from the potato mountain in our garage. I can’t wait. I could eat my iPad!

That’s the way to do the school run @celiathebanshee!
take it easy @PricklyBobpost viral fatigue is real and pleasant.
I love the sound of them at sailor @Confusedmeanderingsi think he sounds very nige indeed!
everyone’s dinners sound lovely. I’ve just got home wet through and starving so I’ve had 6 gyoza and a slice of bread with some
houmous-can’t be bothered to make anything proper.
had a lovely if wet day on the farm. Had the co farmers put on their wet weather gear and come into the kitchen garden to put soil improver on all the beds. In theory this sounds awful but we put some music on and they all worked so well as a team that we got loads done and had a good time doing it. I love it when we are all in the kitchen garden together-it feels weirdly monastic in a way when we are all hoeing away under the sky with the birds chirping in the background. We’ve a fair bit to do-this is just about a third of the whole garden but we managed to do most of this today including the beds under the tarps so I am tired but happy.

Oh gosh @Confusedmeanderings - I'm glad your fire burnt itself out! And what an amazing story from today.

@frozendaisy that sounds like a brilliant meal.

Great day's work @piscofrisco and I love your description of the gardening.

Today's been pretty exhausting - nervous system was less "danger, emails"" and more "danger, meetings!" - still, none of the people I was having fairly important conversations with about work events could tell I was soothing myself with a mixture of warm wheat bags, ice packs and an occasional jelly baby.

Meatballs in a tomato sauce here this evening, with mushrooms and the last few of a tub of very nice olives thrown in. Followed by tinned fruit cocktail (I bet Nigel secretly loves this) and getting into bed.

For some reason can't attach photo on laptop but can on phone...

@Confusedmeanderings what an amazing chap he sounds and I'm sure Nigel would find that very interesting, too. I'm fact, I wonder if he was indeed lurking on this thread, of he would de-lurk to comment!

@piscofrisco that sounds like a very productive day. Your farm reminds me of one near me where we keep some of our bees. It's actually owned by the council, now and they run a day centre from there for disabled people. It has a really interesting history, and has been, in the past, an old mine and also has some buildings on it that were used to house folk with infectious diseases in the early 1900's. When inwas doing my Princes Trust award, we spent a night in the old hospital building at Halloween and had to report live on our local radio station. Much fun!

That looks delicious @martha79 and well done for getting through another day. Thinking about nervous system issues and post viral fatigue, it's amazing how many of us are affected. (Perhaps moreso post Covid) but it also makes me think of women i knew back in the 70s and 80s who were given valium and talked about in hushed tones as having had nervous breakdowns / bad with their nerves etc. It was never investigated further back then, but could have been exacerbated by all kinds of underlying conditions like autoimmune issues, menopause, undiagnosed Neurdivergence, and many other things.

Another thing about post viral fatigue syndrome. I was diagnosed with this after being ill for months back in 2006 after being very poorly on my travels in Thailand. The only reason my GP picked up on it was because they had read about famous golfer being diagnosed after a recent trip to Thailand. That's fairly recent really when you think about it, but it wasn't much known about at the time. I've also mentioned before that I follow Miranda Hart. She was ill for years and it wasn't until decades later that she was eventually diagnosed with an ME type illness likley related to her having Lyme disease as a teenager. Women still aren't taken seriously by and large on the medical front. N.B. I've just realised 2006 is now 20 years ago!

@frozendaisy I'm intrigued as to why you need to learn Spanish by August. I feel like I might have missed something. I'd love to think that you are buying an olive farm in Andalusia or similar.

Loving the sound of Wagyu Goulashish @PrizedPickledPopcorn When i had my café, we had a couple of Hungarian fellas seconded to an office near us. One of them gave me his family recipe, and it's reminded me that I've not made it in ages.

Who was it who was opening a Jadvent on the thread? Sorry, I've forgotten. I've really enjoyed opening mine, after a mad December. I had completely forgotten the contents, so it was a great surprise this morning to open a bottle of Commodity Milk perfume which is absolutely divine (and worth the price of the advent alone!)

We have been to the library this evening and been asked to take part in the Easter Market. We've also been asked to run an educational talk on honey bees during the summer holidays. This is something I used to do in Primary Schools when DD was little. It will be lovely to have her involved now that she's older.

My wreath is still on my front door (where does the time go? I'm sure January used to drag) so I've decided to keep it up until old Twelfth Night.

And finally - as the newsreaders say - it is a mega clear and starry night here. It's also really flipping cold, so although I love looking up at the stars, it's way too cold to be faffing about in the garden for long. Worth a look if any of you also have clear skies though, as there is much to see at this time of year. Jupiter is especially bright and well worth a look through binoculars if you have them.

Gosh, that was long. Congrats if you've read this far 😁

@RainbowZebraWarrior we have family in NW rural Spain they speak little English (the younger generations are multi lingual)
H sort of understands Spanish
nippers did/are doing Spanish GCSE so ok enough
just me to go

we are going for the eclipse in August

I will be heavily two-timing Nigel with BBC bitesize (and no olive farm but nippers will inherit a chestnut tree field)

Oh my @Confusedmeanderings I’m glad that went no further. What a worry. We recently had a chimney fire in the village and the fire crew stayed in the house for a while afterwards to make sure nothing reignited.

@PricklyBob I too hope you soon shift that lurgy. There is too much of it about. I was super tired after this morning’s work, so had a lie down this afternoon - the paperwork will have to wait. Very glad to have left working in schools as I think I would be off long term with the way my energy levels fluctuate. You’re spot on with your comments about fatigue @RainbowZebraWarrior

What a chap @Confusedmeanderings and so well shared. I occasionally come across the type at dinner with friends, who have pals who are either forces retired or long-term active / diplomatic. Fascinating people. One is now a Rear Admiral and tells us stories of conflict which are very sobering. He is a steady type and I would feel confident were he commanding my ship - reminds me rather strongly of Gandalf!

@martha79 that looks extremely tasty and tangy. Olives are a fab addition to many things.

I forgot to mention I too enjoyed the lemon book- driving over lemons, was it? That’s an unusual name for a perfume, @RainbowZebraWarrior . What kind of advent calendar is it?

Kitchen garden looks great, @piscofrisco .

The whole chimney fire/firemen thing must have been a worry. I was once required to phone the fire brigade for advice. The advice was that they were coming now, complete with engines and sirens. They stormed through the office and up the stairs… it was most, erm, unexpectedly intriguing. I began to appreciate what people say about men in uniform!

And I had a glimpse of my future as you described your husband’s viewing habits, @Confusedmeanderings . DH is keen on F1, and recorded all of them for many years. He had a huge shelf of F1 races. It would not surprise me at all of that were to happen to us. Hey ho. At least he now wears headphones so the noise isn’t so intrusive.

Loved that book, driving over lemons. Also a big fan of fire service. Mostly for keeping us safe but also for the extra fun we get to have at the “firemen’s balls” in Paris each July. I’ve not been since pre pandemic but they are absolutely NVN and consistent of dancing, muscly firemen pouring champagne and jolly fun. Now that I’m all knackered I doubt I’ll attend one again but oh my the memories of joy with friends are so worth having!

My overriding memory of reading Driving Over Lemons back when it came out in 1999 was the authors description of his neighbour making Poor Man's Potatoes (Patatas a lo pobre) and how utterly delicious he made it sound. I made that dish over and over again for months on end, and, although it was delicious, it never quite matched his description. It's one of those things whereby you have to actually be there Similarly, i cannot make a Spanish Tortilla the same as the first one I ever tasted, nor a Greek Salad the same as the one I first had aged 15 in Mykonos whilst watching the sun go down, etc.

@PrizedPickledPopcorn the Commodity Milk perfume was in a Glossybox beauty advent calendar. Fairly expensive (as in more than a cardboard German one at £80) but worth absolutely every penny it turns out.

This is the online / AI description of Commodity Milk. It smells as delicious and comforting as it sounds.

"Commodity Milk smells like a warm, creamy, and sweet scent, blending a "Cold Milk Accord" with notes of toasted sesame, marshmallow, tonka bean, and skin musk, creating a cozy, skin-like, and subtly woody aroma"

Morning - emerging after 12 hours in bed here. I think you have a good point about the post viral fatigue/ nervous system stuff @RainbowZebraWarrior - so many women who spent years masking, complying with expectations, managing health conditions that weren't well understood or were just ignored (because it's "just hormones"), trying to keep everyone happy amidst all the crap that women are/ were meant to just put up with - no wonder lots of people reached a breaking point. I was definitely doing too much pre-covid and tried to get back to that normal too quickly. Body says no! I've been very lucky with my GP - when I said to her that I felt like I had "purely physical anxiety" she knew exactly what I meant.

I was thinking last night about why I'm enjoying reading CC and other similar things so much at the moment, and I think there's a bit element of it being things that make you feel cared for. Imagining going to a house like Nigel's, with lovely candles burning, being served a warming soup and chunky bread and butter... despite not being a parent, I realise I've spent a lot of life looking after other people's needs first and absolutely not asking for help. Sorry, bit deep for 6am!

I remember enjoying reading Driving Over Lemons. And I'm intrigued by the Commodity perfume - heard all good things about it, but I must work through my perfume stash first. Current faves are the M&S pistachio one and a marshmallow-y one from Perfume Parlour (both dupes of Kayali scents).

Good luck with the Spanish @frozendaisy - it's the most pleasingly logical language I've learned.

@Bimblesalong your firemen's balls sound great fun 😁

Morning all.

Totally get what you mean about why we love Nigel and similar @martha79 . It's all about nurture, yes? Cooking, beautiful candles, gardening, nature, looking after others. It's all about nurture. I'm so glad I finally realised that i also had to nurture myself as well as others in life. (So it links very much with health too)

I have decided that Nurture will be my word for 2026 as i hadn't managed to find one until now, so thanks for that.

I also hear you @Bimblesalong about looking back and perhaps not being able to do some of the amazing stuff we used to get up to. I've had a brilliant life and did a lot that I wanted to do. I treasure all those memories as there's a fair bit I can't do anymore. Again, though, it's about celebrating all that we have achieved in life and nurturing those lovely memories.

Yes, I have nurtured all my life, but never been nurtured. Nurturing is a strong drive for me. As a student I felt very adrift as a singleton with no responsibilities. I quickly acquired pot plants and goldfish.

Learning to nurture myself has been hard. I’m not great at it. But I’m making progress.

The perfume name makes more sense now I know the brand is Commodity. Milk is not an entirely unreasonable name for a perfume. Commodity Milk is a bit more confounding! It does sound like a lovely smell, Rainbow.

I’m due a new perfume, but find shopping for them hard. You can only really test/smell two at a time, one on each wrist. Logistically it’s tricky unless you regularly pass somewhere with testers!

And looking back I see less amazing experiences and more amazement at my competence/ability at various stages which I feel I lack now! I mourn my former brain! However, I never used it particularly well, so shouldn’t miss it too much! I just have such limited capacity now. Spoons. There are no spare spoons. Indeed, some of life’s tasks get half a spoon when they require a full spoon’s worth of effort. What my mum used to call ‘a lick and a promise’.

All of Life is ‘a lick and a promise’ these days!

Nurture is a lovely word for the year. I couldn't settle on one and have some combination of space/ less/ peace.

@PrizedPickledPopcorn this is why I end up buying lots of sample sizes to try at home, it's so difficult to choose while you're out and about. What sort of scents do you like?

I took this photo the other day when discussing cutlery with a friend (as you do) and it's a good representation of my current metaphorical spoons.

Morning all-I’ve actually only just woken up after being up at 4am with the Daschund who is going through an unfortunate phase of early hours rising and snuffling about. Day off today and I’m still feeling a touch under the weather so pleased that I’ve to wait in for the washing machine repair man, so can therefore do not much at all.
Im so dull on the perfume front, i only ever wear OG issey miyake and have done since i was 21. I tried to change it once and DD’s went bananas and said it felt wrong. And I’ve never really found much that I liked better anyway to be fair.
Im having a disastrous run of candles. A sand and fog one that has no scent. A st Eval the same. An expensive once from a local company here that barely had a scent. Help! I like things that smell of the coast, grass, woods, fresh, green or else fig, almond or pomegranate type ones. Nothing too flowery.
nurture is a great word and actually outside of maybe when I was pregnant with dd1 all those years ago, I don’t think I’ve ever felt very nurtured. My word for this year is expansion. Expanding horizons (we have a fire bit of travel planned this year), plus I’m hoping to do some further education of some sort and just generally to stop living to everyone else’s demands and expectations to a degree. We will see how it goes!

Have you tried St Eval's Winter Thyme, @piscofrisco ? Paddywax Cedar & Fig in the green jar is also nice.

And my biggest local TK Maxx had some nice Aery ones at the weekend - worth a rootle round?

Winter Thyme was my go to-but that was the st Eval I had this last time that didn’t have any scent at all. :( I will check out the other one-Thankyou!

Our nearest TK Maxx is 50 miles away now which is part of the problem as that’s where I found all my little gems!

Complain to St Eval then. Seriously. They may well replace it.

@piscofrisco have a look on Vinted, there's always lots of St Eval candles!
I had Winter Thyme last year and they didn't smell at all until I broke them up and used them like wax melts.

I don't think I've ever related as strongly to a post, as I have to yours @martha79 . That sense of both needing to be, and allowing ourselves to be, nurtured is becoming stronger with age. Like you, I don;t have children but have spent most of my life caring for others, looking out for their needs and not putting on my own oxygen mask.

For me, it has only been two weeks that I've been flattened by this virus, so not close to your experience but it has been interesting to see the reactions at work, where I'm always first in the door, last to leave, taking on all the problems and challenges, meeting the deadlines etc. I haven't had a sick day in three years and now I've just stopped. I've been working reduced hours from home the last few days and my boss is keen for me to do a full day tomorrow, with a view to returning to the office next week. It's probably do-able. I actually feel a lot better today - and yesterday, I managed my river walk without getting exhausted - but I'm learning to listen to my body and I'll see how I feel in the morning rather than doing it because I have been told to. Actually, I was on a call with my manager and her manager yesterday, where my manager started saying that getting back into a proper routine might make me feel better, and she'd really like to see me back; her manager then cut in to say, "don't be ridiculous! Look at Bob - she looks and sounds terrible. She needs more time". Although grateful for the intervention, I was also a bit put out - I thought I was looking pretty good; had even worn makeup for the first time since 1 Jan!

Belatedly coming to the discussion about food also. Most of what I've been eating recently has been quite boring but yesterday, I shredded and sauteed some spring greens and then used them as the filling for a slightly runny omelette. No pictures but it was the perfect, frugal, simple but tasty and nurturing lunch!

I'm also a big fan of St Eval Winter Thyme. I haven't noticed a lack of scent with St Evan as others have. If anything I've had the opposite issue: I previously had a box of bay and rosemary tealights from a brand called Octo, which I've been using for the past two years in my favourite tealight holder over the christmas period. Inspired by Nigel and CC, I've found it to be a really subtle christmassy scent. This year, I replaced these with St Eval bay and rosemary and found the scent to be really strong and almost artificial. DH also complained that it was giving him a headache, so I stopped using them and have just been burning my Winter Thyme instead, which is fine.

My favourite perfume is Marc Jacob's Daisy (I know the advert is universally hated on MN). I often try looking for a new scent but I haven't found anything which hits the right blend of fresh and floral like this. I first bought a bottle of it to treat myself on our honeymoon 18 years ago, and have been using it ever since. It's interesting that, for me, perfume should be floral, whereas I'm not a fan of floral scents in candles; favouring grassy, coastal, herbal blends.

I also have a soft spot for Driving Over Lemons. I lived in Spain for a few years - although I was based in cities rather than the rural farmlands which lead to book deals. There was a rash of Brits in Spain books around the same time, but DoL was definitely the best. There was a bar near my flat which made incredible patatas a lo pobre, so I remember being really excited to read that passage. His description was mouthwatering and spot on. I haven't made them for a while so might have to consider making a dinner around those sometime soon - although, like you, @RainbowZebraWarrior , I'll never be able to make them as perfectly as that bar. I think the secret is more evoo than I feel comfortable using.

Well the weather and spring tides are playing havoc with any beachcombing plans I had here, so I'm on the metro and off into the city I head instead. It's a beautiful, bright and sunny day although very frosty.

Yep, I get the 'lick and promise' and allocating half a spoon to tasks which is frustrating. I spent years bearing myself up about it, but accept my limtations now (to a degree). When JL came to install my dishwasher last week i heard the bloke mutter under his breath "dirty, dirty, dirty" when he was under my sink. My house isn't a pig sty, but at the same time it is not perfect as I am simply not capable any more. I was standing there clinging on to my walking stick fgs. Stupid judgemental oaf. I'd like to say it didn't bother me, but I did feel judged. I have since had a really good clean and feel better now, but I judge him more harshly for being an ignorant arse than I do myself when I know I do my best.

Similarly, my Mum's cleaner knows I employed her because my Mum is 81 and in poor health. Yet last week she said to my Mum that she had never seen a bathroom so dusty. (It's had been two weeks since the last clean) but Why? Why comment negatively in a situation where you're supposed to be there to help or support someone? Anyway, that's my rant for the day.

I'm going to have a wander of the final clearances in White Company and Fenwick then have a tootle around the candle section in TK Maxx. Fortunately they are all next to each other.

I've been really disappointed in St Eval this year @piscofrisco Something has changed, I feel. Did you order in the end from Toasted Crumpet? I got my order last week and am very happy with it. My favourite is definitely their Winter Noir. Also Aery's Winter Thyme is phenomenal and probably my current overall favourite. They have a sale on atm.

Not particularly picturesque, but here's the sunrise from outside M&S earlier.

Oh I did! I don’t think it came! I will chase it up. Totally forgot about it.