The Nigel Slater Christmas Chronicles Readalong 2025/6 Part 4

[RainbowZebraWarrior]

Hello all, and welcome to Part 4. We Continue our CC journey. We are almost at the end, as there are only four chapters of the book left, but there will be a year round thread for those who wish to continue.

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, (and it's never too late to join in) 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!

This is the Nigel one from today
exact as the recipe says with basil milk infusion!

end strong
😀

It’s too nice for the other two 😀
food bin loved it though

Enjoy the warmth, @Bimblesalong I think I may have spent a Christmas one year near where you are. I was supposed to take a trip up the volcano when I was there, but the weather had other ideas. Hope you get to enjoy some Canarian potatoes.

Meant to say that we can finish this thread then move to the Year Round Nigel Appreciation thread. Looking forward to his Japan photos as always (due any day) and also his forthcoming book which I'm hoping we may see before the end of the year.

Pulp started strong in the Piano Room today for me, but I was less inspired by their second song and cover song. I may have to listen back, as things often grow on me.

The wind is fierce here tonight. Took three attempts to light the fire, as it kept blowing my match out.

Thanks, Nigelistas! Sunny morning, drizzly afternoon indoors, so we have already had the Canarian potatoes. Lovely. Rest of the week looking better and we have had a chance to rest. The original choice was Andalusia, which is suffering extreme weather right now.

Hope you get it sorted @PrizedPickledPopcorn It’s annoying when you’ve decided on a special purchase and it doesn’t work smoothly.

That volcano is amazing- you can be sunbathing at the bottom, but need a cardi at the top!

Thank you all for the good wishes with the plant purchase- it allowed me to pay by Amazon. DH reminded me that fun budget or no, we are currently strapped after booking the holiday! It’s a cash flow problem more than anything, but he’ll have to rearrange his pots.

More than ever I need a Ninja icecream gadget. That looks amazing, frozendaisy.

I had a bit of a hiccup with the cooking arrangements, as DM has a significant legal issue underway and has the attention span of a gnat, bless her. So instead of paying attention to dinner and salads I was talking her down off peak rage and emailing agents about legal stuff. Consequently I didn’t salt and drain the cucumber so my dill/cucumber salad will be soggy, and got my byriani wrong so the rice was a bit gritty. Still, I have 3 respectable tubs of healthy salad in the fridge. And only a small shredded area of thumb 🤦‍♀️. I love my mandolin, but it really does need you at peak attentiveness!

@frozendaisy how much use do you get from the ninja creamy and is there anything I should know? There’s one on FB for£80.

I can’t believe we are at the end - again! I’m putting CC away for another year - it’s the first thing to come out in the run up to Christmas and the last thing to go away. Candle burning will continue for some time yet and I shall revisit ATF - which is actually the Nigelist book of all (in fact almost too Nigel in parts!) Right - off to unwrap a new bar of Santa Maria Novella Melograno soap to Nigel-up my bathroom. Enjoy your hols @Bimblesalong and see you all on the year round Nigel thread!

I really loved it. It helps that I've been listening to that particular new song on repeat recently. I often find that I'll have listened to an album for a while and then suddenly one of the tracks will just grab me as if if I'm hearing it for the first time. I wasn't so taken with the cover version at first but there was a point (will have to listen back to get the exact moment) where Jarvis' delivery just stopped me in my tracks and I was hooked from that point. Loved his reminiscing on the infamous Brit incident too.

I agree @LillianGish that CC marks the beginning and the beginning and end of the festive/winterval period. I too put it back on the bookshelf yesterday - from November to early Feb it sits on the coffee table. Candle burning is year round though; perhaps not so frequently in the summer months but I always have one burning while practising yoga.

Glad you got your plants ordered @PrizedPickledPopcorn

@frozendaisy the ice cream looks lovely.

CC now has a place in my recipe book cupboard in the kitchen, and I've started re-reading Toast.

After getting all my food delivered yesterday I had no energy to cook last night, but I did manage to marinate my chicken before retreating to bed for about 12 hours. Put it in the oven this morning with all my little homegrown potatoes, so I have that ready for later. Not quite the salty Canarian potatoes, but I do have some herbs etc to turn into mojo verde to go with it.

Delivering a whole-day event at work today, which feels like a big undertaking, but at least it's online and my job is to hide in the background Zoom 'adminning' (breakout rooms, popping the polls up, helping out anyone with tech issues, that kind of thing).

We have a cuisineart ice cream maker, it’s quite big and our kitchen isn’t huge but I found a space to store it and easily get it out

we wanted one that you didn’t have to freeze the bowl because our freezer is on the small size and you have to freeze the bowl for 24 hours and we wanted to be more spontaneous than that

how often do we use? Much more in the summer, if the teens have friends over short notice we can muster up a batch in just over an hour provided we have double cream in, and we got into sorbets when it was hot last year

so it’s definitely seasonal and we only got it last June but since then we have only bought x1 tub (b&j cookie dough can you tell we have teenagers) since getting maker

it was purchased as part of the drive to remove UPF as much as possible - we have a bread maker - and I think saves money overall (although it hasn’t paid itself off yet) - and I am sure we haven’t exploited it fully - I am intending on filling the small freezer with alphonso mango sorbet cone April/May

So we don’t regret buying it at all but it’s an extravagant purchase for us

(usage summer months 3/4 times a week possibly more if it’s 30c+ and all we want is citrus sorbets - winter x2 a month ish when either we have all the teens here or we have something like a hot pudding you need a cold vanilla with)

Good morning all. Just back from our lovely trip to the lakes and it was just the ticket. Will try and have a catch up now but hope all are well

Finally brought CC down from the bedside table and tucked it away in the kitchen dresser until November. It’s the last part of Christmas to be packed away.

Have pulled out A Thousand Feasts which I bought last year and haven’t even opened so I have that to dip into now.

It’s been, as always, a special corner of Mumsnet, so even though I rarely post I do so enjoy the peep into the lives of posters who post so eloquently on so many subjects.

See you all on the other thread.

Just leaving the link for the year round Nigel thread here

https://www.mumsnet.com/talk/christmas/5446339-year-round-nigel-slater-discussion-thread-part-3?page=5&reply=150288631

Pleased you enjoyed Pulp @PricklyBob I must admit, I'm not a superfan (I am a Stereophonics superfan) but I was just hoping for a mind blowing cover of something really different. Sam Ryder did an amazing cover of Bohemian Rhapsody last year. I always see it as a 'world is your oyster' type opportunity. I also get that things can grow on you, song wise, so I will give it another listen and see what I think. Mind, I loved the first song from Pulp's new album instantly.

Similarly, I am loving Jack Savoretti's new song from the first play at the minute. He has an amazing voice.

Don't know if anyone listened to Piano Room today (if you didn't, dont bother) but I was honestly shocked when Mel C from the Spice Girls did the Spice Girls song Two Become One as her cover song. It was uninspiring and lazy IMHO. Her voice would have been rather suited to something like Jolene or maybe a Pink song, but she played it safe. Lola Young's song Messy would also have been a great choice - especially as it has just won a Grammy - a Beatles song, Elvis, Bowie, etc would all have properly had the "wow" factor if sung well. Makes me feel she is a one trick pony.

I know there are a lot of singers on the thread, so I am going to pose this question: if you could sing a popular song (or were picking from a karaoke song book) which song would you choose?

That question is my nemesis, @RainbowZebraWarrior . I like karaoke, but can never think of what I want to sing, or indeed how the songs go.
I could probably make a great stab at anything by Queen or Meatloaf, given the right key. Or Karen Carpenter. I love her voice.

Thanks @frozendaisy ! Turns out DH has an ice cream maker so I’ll have a go with that.

I can’t believe the weather. It’s been freezing, and it’s going to get worse with sleet and snow and rain, and my roses and coronilla will be arriving expecting to be planted! Poor planning on my part.

I always do boys of summer at karaoke but I can’t sign at all so it wouldn’t matter what I did it wood be awful no matter what.
The weather is indeed awful @PrizedPickledPopcornI’ve been cold all day and I still can’t get warm. dh is away for work in Bordeaux so I will have all three dogs in bed with me instead as a desperate measure!

My ultimate karaoke song if I can find a willing duet partner is 'I Know Him So Well'.

It's so cold - icy mist when I popped out after work and now it's sleeting out there.

I'm not a good singer but my karaoke rendition of 'Pour Some Sugar on Me' has been very well received before

Loving the karaoke choices.

Yes the weather is horrendous. Its still pitch black outside and I am totally fed uo with it. Out and about all day yesterday with 2 degree temps, a fierce easterly wind and hail. My father locked the keys in his truck with the dog inside so I had to launch a rescue mission. He suggested we go to Charlie's Garden (not an exotic sounding restaurant, a beach here on the wild and rugged NE coast) for seaglass hunting. With a whipping Easterly wind? No thank you.

Please, Mother Nature give us some warmth and sunshine!

This morning I am off to collect a bargain heated coat hanger thingy and then it should be more candles but it's actually too cold for candles. I see more and more plants are appearing in the shops. Great to see, but like you @PrizedPickledPopcorn I already have stuff that needs to go in the ground ASAP, and it's not looking good any time soon.

Anyway, hope you all have a good day despite the awfully dreary weather.

The forecast claims that it will be 10 degrees and possibly sunny here this afternoon. Currently freezing, rainy and foggy so I will believe it when I see it. I’ve got not much planned for my day off-food shop, make some soup, catch up with laundy, dog walk and watch Bridgerton is about the size of it. I feel absolutely wiped out for some reason so it’s a slow day for me and I’m happy as Larry about it :) The Hyacinths I planted in a bowl have come out overnight. They look Beautiful but they are making the daschund sneeze.
A lovely Wednesday to all…

I lived in Japan for a bit and love karaoke the way they do it (small room, just friends) although I would actually literally die rather than perform in public British style! Although I do remember one extremely drunken night in Kobe, singing ‘Puff the magic dragon’ to the whole bar 🤦‍♀️ and now I think about it, a magical night where a big group of us sang ‘video killed the radio star’ while older Japanese couples waltzed. Fun times. The trick is to match your range rather than singing favourites so I used to do the carpenters (@PrizedPickledPopcorn) or ‘like yesterday’ by Strawberry Switchblade. I bet that’s not on the lists any more. If it’s more about fun to sing, I like ‘you’re so vain’

That sounds amazing @Celiathebanshee and a slow day sounds good @piscofrisco

Tiny bit of snow/ sleet overnight and it's just murky and cold now. I was given some heat-up mittens for Christmas and am currently plugged in - it's helping a bit. Read a bit of Toast and a bit of the Almanac with a cup of tea and a candle this morning. Fairly quiet day here and am doing some tedious but very necessary admin for our upcoming conference at work.

I like a cover where an artist takes a song and does something unexpected with it, so I agree, Mel C's cover in the Piano Room did nothing for me. My contribution to the conversation is Joey Ramone's version of What A Wonderful World

Totally agree. Its great to get that 'surprise' I'll never forget Arctic Monkeys doing Love Machine in Live Lounge.

Just caught up with today's Piano Room with James - really enjoyed it (they open with one of my favourite songs 🥰).