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!

@PrizedPickledPopcorn

take the needle out?

On this day last year, we were discussing having satsumas subbed with Easy peelers (horror!)

I updated Mum's weekly Sainsbury's order last night, and they had no satsumas. I messaged her to say sorry I'd had to put easy peelers on. I've just had the receipt through, and they have subbed the easy peelers for two bags of satsumas. Hurrah!

Off to take the Christmas too back that I bought for DD yesterday (note to self, don't bother I'm future) and to pick up a dehumidifier for my troublesome bedroom's 'condensation corner'.

Hope you get the sewing machine sorted @PrizedPickledPopcorn

Hope everyone has a good last day at school / work (assuming it is last day)

@RainbowZebraWarrior I found tangerines in Waitrose - to be honest they look like every other small orange fruit

I am after the tangerines of my youth, lighter orange, looser, more tangy. I am going to make it a family trek around markets on Tuesday, they don’t know yet. I will make it sound exciting!

@frozendaisy it’s totally stuck in the down, half in. I can undo the screw that tightens the needle in but the needle doesn’t move. I had to cut the project free. Flywheel moves but doesn’t move the needle.

Am I missing a mysterious needle freeing technique?

There's so much lurgy this Christmas, lurgy and flu
There's so much lurgy this Christmas, coughing and sneezing too
I'd have a cold, a cold, without my Vicks to hold
This Christmas

(apologies, I don't need to be encouraged with this sort of thing 😁 - one of my cats likes to steal bits of lettuce and rocket to eat, and I spent a good chunk of last week singing "She's a salad thief" to the tune of 'Killer Queen'...)

Anyway! I am also behind with my advent calendars, I ended up with two tea bag ones and I had a lovely idea about pausing to make that day's tea in a nice cup for a quiet moment... instead I have a load of random tea bags piling up and I haven't opened the doors for about four days.

@RainbowZebraWarrior I think I enjoy being busy, but mainly because getting out to activities is how I see people, and actually I need to get better at pacing myself and sitting quietly with my own company (mumbles something about New Year's resolutions). Not that I'm getting a choice at the moment - so what would have originally been a few days consisting of a long run, an outdoor musical performance that I was in charge of, and a lunch and cinema trip, is now a quiet few days with a couple of friends popping in. Today I have a morning cuppa with one, and then my one task is to get the last Christmas cards done and posted.

Today's recipes look lovely, I can't get enough pickles!

Can you loosen screw, hand turn the needle holder up, needle likely left in fabric, then try to wiggle needle up?

And then, or also, hand wriggle the wheel forwards and backwards, just small amounts,, half centimetre, whilst pulling on fabric to see if and thing comes loose?

Clearly unplug it first.

And once it’s out check needle is in the right way, one side of needles are usually grooved, it matters which way they go in, check instructions, this has been the reason for most of my machine jams.

Loving the Vicks ad campaign and now also craving an old-fashioned satsuma.

Dd's pizza van performance was rained off - the car park was underwater - but they relocated to a nearby hotel bar and it was all very atmospheric and lovely.

Nigel is quite right that it isn't cold enough for proper Christmas. I wonder if it ever will be again.

@PrizedPickledPopcorn forgive me if repeating. I'm behind the times but I doubt that much has changed.
If the fabric is also jammed rather than just trapped by the needle, it would imply there may be a load of things going on on the bobbin side or reverse of the plate. So bright light, magnifying glass, and tweezers, disassembling as much of that as you can, would be my starting point. Getting the bobbin casing out may reveal lots of tightly wrapped cotton on the shaft behind the bobbin casing.

I'd suspect whatever's going on down there, is affecting the return mechanism.

The other thing would be a tiny bit of machine oil up at the clamp point and leave ten mins, then try gently systematically wiggling the needle out.

Another lengthy catch-up of both book and thread for me this morning.

I finished up work yesterday, for the year. I have one of those workplaces which closes between christmas and new year anyway but I've never, in over 25 years of working, finished this early for christmas. It has been a pretty awful year and I've racked up a tremendous amount of unpaid overtime so spoke to my boss late last week about how I'm feeling - we agreed I could use the time owned to finish early. It's not something we usually do in this organisation so now I need to stop feeling so guilty about it, and worrying that it will come back to bite me.

It's lovely to have some time to get properly prepared for christmas though. Once I've finished posting here, I'm going to write out the shopping list for next week - it's probably a bit sad, but this really excites me! I've also started writing in earnest over the last couple of weekends and I want to keep that going over the next few days. I've had a story, and characters, burning inside me for a long time and I really want to get it out of my head and into existence in the world - even if that's just a very small existence, for me only.

I feel that I'm always coming on these threads to proclaim that I don't like christmas sweets; christmas cake, mince pies, christmas pudding... But I very much do like panettone - especially toasted with butter. The irony is that DH and his family, who are Italian, detest the stuff 😂

One of my favourite CC passages resides within the panettone chapter; Nigel's description of vanilla and how he always thought it was a posh word for tastes of nothing, until he "met" real vanilla. I can absolutely relate to this.

One area in which I am definitely becoming more Nigel, is my new-found love of christmas carols this year. I can't really explain it - I've always been more Slade than Carols from Kings when it comes to christmas music and, having come from a non-religious family background, they just haven't featured much, but for the last few weeks I've been craving carols and finding that The Holly and the Ivy, in particular, is hitting a spot I didn't know existed. It's been lovely to wrap presents and write cards with carols as background accompaniment this year.

I never bother with vanilla when it’s alongside other flavours- it’s often listed in a chocolate cake for example. I just don’t think it adds anything. I’d rather add a pinch of coffee or even a tinier pinch of chilli to add complexity.

Thank you for the advice, @frozendaisy and @EphemeraleEudemonia . I’ll report back.

Currently, nothing is moving anywhere at all. So let the dismantling begin!

Truth is, I should have disassembled and cleaned it before I used it. I knew it was running stiff. I just didn’t understand the implications!

I've had some tangerines this week which I've mentally rechristened Difficult Peelers, because eating one means 5 minutes of chipping the peel off in tiny shards.

@PrizedPickledPopcorn if it was already 'running stiff' then I'd be into every access point with the machine oil. It can't hurt it, because whatevers currently holding it will free more easily if other parts are in reasonable fettle.

Also weird question, but you aren't by any chance using a 'new' different bobbin from usual?
A friends machine turned out to only operate on a specific bobbin make. (This may be common knowledge, but it came as news to me)

Ah pleased it went ahead in a warmer, drier environment!

We've had 3 and 4 degrees here this week with the usual North East wind, so definitely feels cold enough for us. I suppose I'm I'm that part of the country that Nigel means when he says he feels envious of frosts and mists. I'm going through logs at a crazy speed each evening.

Cold and bright with a stunning light here this morning. I've had a wander down the waghonways by the railway museum.ni also found a wild quince that I never knew was there.

Picked up some food, had a mooch in M&S and got some bargains (50% off a lot of decorations, candles and other sale stuff), sorted more logs, been to see my folks, had some fresh air as above and now going to deliver Mum's cards before going to get DD.

"It's lovely to have some time to get properly prepared for christmas though. Once I've finished posting here, I'm going to write out the shopping list for next week - it's probably a bit sad, but this really excites me! I've also started writing in earnest over the last couple of weekends and I want to keep that going over the next few days. I've had a story, and characters, burning inside me for a long time and I really want to get it out of my head and into existence in the world - even if that's just a very small existence, for me only."

Oh @PricklyBob the writing sounds so lovely. And good for you managing to get finished a bit earlier. Love A list and planning food shopping. Definitely exciting!

Difficult peelers 😂

I'm really enjoying reading the sewing machine problem-solving. And excited about your writing @PricklyBob. I'm signed up to this https://dowhatyouloveforlife.com/product/winter-writing-sanctuary-2025/ - did it last year and it was very therapeutic, surprised me what my brain came up with for some of the prompts.

My friend brought me a box of gingerbread bits which were meant to be a house but construction did not go well. The gingerbread is really tasty though, I think I've got through at least one wall already.

Gosh, authors as well! Yay, impressive bunch!

I’m strictly a Jill of all trades. So this machine has barely been used. It was given to me ages ago and I’ve mended the odd thing on it. I’ve successfully freed up the needle, disassembled and reassembled and done my mending.

However it’s constantly jamming up still. Possibly a bit of user error, and I’ll check the bobbin too @EphemeraleEudemonia . Good shout.

But not today. Today I’m getting on with Christmas packing/cooking stuff.

After Christmas I’ll have a go at fixing up it again. I want to give it to my young friend. I have a fancier machine that MiL gave me, that I got serviced recently. That’s the one I will use.

Thank you all! What did we do before the internet? I have had advice from you and YouTube on the case!

It can be a partially constructed house. Or perhaps one suffering gentle decay… decorate with ivy as well as snow!

We always used to do the Ikea one, but the joy was in the making and decorating with the small DC, rather than the eating! This year we have their tree instead! I’ll do it for the epiphany party I’m having!

Re the sewing machine @PrizedPickledPopcorn - both mine and my mother's (both old, heavy Berninas) are very fussy about the way the thread comes out of the bobbin when you're threading it up. before you move the needle to pull it through the plate. It has to come out to the right of the little arm that holds the bobbin in place. I have no idea why but they both snarl up badly if the thread is on the wrong side.

There Is no Jack Frost here

That is what’s missing (well actually it’s not the only thing still haven’t located the mini printers)

school done, college nearly done, work nearly done

early down tools this year which is wonderful

Thank you @SqueakyDinosaur ! Lots of things to play with then. I thought it would be gummed up with the fluff of ages when I took it apart, but it really wasn’t.

Can I put oil in the wheel side, do you think? It has two, one inside the other, which I vaguely remember is about the bobbin filling.

How much do you pay for servicing? I was a bit shocked. It was rather a lot, he only takes cash (old school) and he kept it months 🤣. And talked the hind leg off a donkey both at drop off, attempt 1 to collect, and the second successful collection!

I haven't had mine serviced for a few years (ooh matron!) but it was about £100 when I did. Both my mother and I have been told to hang on to them because you just can't get the same quality of build now. Mine weighs about the same as a large dog.

ETA I'm in London, where everything costs a bomb!

"It can be a partially constructed house. Or perhaps one suffering gentle decay" Someone did that on Bake-Off once.

And getting bits of it under your fingernails!