Year Round Nigel Slater discussion thread - Part 4

[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 has been running for a few years, and the contributors 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, grab a drink and relax.

A very hearty welcome to friends new and old!

Ah, I know him for his musical side @RainbowZebraWarrior - some lovely songs.

I thought it must be mistaken identity with the wallpaper - none of mine is particularly interesting (except this little vintage bit leftover inside my built-in wardrobe).

I have successfully done nothing today - napping and more napping. Just got takeaway from local Greek place, big mixed grill sort of thing with chips, may be eating it for days...

Also meant to say that I loved hearing about the lovely tortoise and it's inquisitive personality @LillianGish I seem to remember quite a few people having a tortoise as a pet when I was a young 'un, but you hardly hear of folk having them these days.

Fab pics as always @EphemeraleEudemonia and I'm pleased the mural got done. Trying to find a balance is always tricky, eh? Sending gentle hugs.

Same to you @martha79 Again, the paying the price for doing too much is always frustrating. I agree that the wet weather today has been a blessing in disguise.

Hope you enjoyed Go Ape @piscofrisco I also meant to say that I'm pleased you managed to evebtually get your hair done yesterday. (Was it yesterday? I'm lost off a bit with the bank holiday weekend) I always hate having to sit in the chair for so long getting colour done, but actually it enforces some R&R. Hope doggy doing ok, and DD2 has made an appearance.

How's the job going @noodlezoodle Hope all is well with you across the pond.

Also hoping @Snooks1971is ok. Not heard from you in a while, my lovely. I apologise if this was my fault as I asked if I was missing something about the vase frogs and this may have come across as being negative. I just wanted to say that this was not my intention and it's been on my mind. I would hate to discourage anyone from participating in the thread.

Sorry if I've missed anyone. Much love to all.

DD also knew Tom from his music and came barrelling through to my room a couple of days ago saying "You Met Him?" She particularly loves a song by him called Lights are on.

Love that wallpaper. When I moved into this bungalow 15 years ago, the previous owner had been almost 103. I found some amazing 70's wallpaper in the large hallway cupboard along with shelves lined with copies of ancient newspapers. It's always fascinating to find the history behind a home. In my first flat (Victorian) I found an ancient bow tie under the floorboards and always wondered about it's owner.

Napping is good, and needs must. Also, Greek takeaway is the best. Always huge portions, I find. Enjoy the leftovers 😋

Oh my.. no not at all @RainbowZebraWarrior ! I’m not easily offended and certainly wasn’t at all by you my dear 🥰 I’ve been working away at Garden events and still getting used to the busier timetable. I also need to get used to checking in more often into this lovely thread so it becomes my new habit and thank you for asking after me.

Morning all, and a happy bank holiday Monday!

The weekend has been very chilled out and slow, which is what I like. I've been pottering around in the garden - bought a foxglove and a rose plant off the market stall in town which are now in new pots....let's hope I don't kill them.

I sent a picture of them to my dad, and he replied back saying he has ordered me my first ever David Austin!! Totally unexpected, and kind!

Has anyone else got similar and any tips on how to grow roses?

How lovely! I have a few David Austin's; New Dawn is my favourite. I always dig a big, deep hole and put plenty of blood fish and bone in the bottom to give them a good start. I then mostly let them do their thing and prune quite hard in late autumn / train where I want it to go in the case of a climber or rambler. And just keep an eye out for any pests of leaf problems.

The David Austin website has lots of tips on caring for roses. Have a look at your particular variety once you get it and take it from there.

Also, please share when you know which variety you have, and when it flowers 😊

Edited to add: oh and I feed weekly with miracle gro in the summer months and deadhead regularly to get more flowers.

@RainbowZebraWarrior Thank you for the tips! I will definitely share, it’s going to be the ‘Bring Me Sunshine’ rose 😊

Oh that's a cracker, and a beautiful colour! A really lovely shrubs rose. I'm sure I have one of those in my front garden (all my traditional shrub roses are in the front and my climbers are in the back)

Ah, that's grand 😊 Do tell more about your garden events if you have time.

I admit it does look lovely!

I bought my dad his own rose from there a few years ago, it was constantly out of stock - I had to put email alerts on for it haha.

I would love to see some pictures of yours 😊

Lovely day yesterday - had a field trip with a friend to our town’s new bookshop-cum-wine bar. Pic attached. V civilised and while it wasn’t too busy even though town was heaving, all the tables were occupied and I think nearly everybody who came in bought a book, I assume to support the business as they are inevitably more expensive than online, but also probably more than Waterstones as they don’t have the buy one get one half price table. We really
want it to succeed though.
Funny here today - our first (non-Easter!) bank hol since DH retired. It definitely still feels like one though.

What a treat it has been this morning having a lazy couple of hours. It's usually up-n-oot-early for us every weekend, so this extra day is marvellous. We had to light the stove as its still quite grey and miserable here. DD is wrapped in a blanket in front of said stove, and Mr D is on the windowsill, listening to the birds with his paws dangling on the warm radiator below.

Going to see Magic Faraway Tree this afternoon. It was menat to be Sheep Detectives but DD insists I see MFT before it disappears from the cinema. We will see the sheepy one next week.

After losing our local car boot sale a few years ago, we had just been bemoaning the lack of one nearby and I saw an advert this morning that one has started for the summer at the football club in 'Shields. Hurrah! We can tag that on to our Sunday market visits as Shields is next door to Tynemouth.

I've also just discovered a glass gallery with an amazing café, so that's been added to my ever growing 'stuff to enjoy for my birthday' list. I am rather enjoying this self indulgence. I've also just picked up an old book and a pressed cow parsley was in the front cover. I have therefore decided to wander the lanes on a (sunnier) day and pick and press some smaller flowers then make them into laminated book marks for everyone this Christmas. Would look even better with some pressed wild violets added, too.

Finally, I loved Nigel's garden picture yesterday (flowering dogwood) so I went out in the rain to the bottom of the garden to find something interesting in mine to snap. I have to say that my Buddha here has always been very happy under the Choisya and I even love the lichen growing on my path.

Hope you all enjoy your bank holiday Monday.

Oh, forgot

@Celiathebanshee A bookshop / wine bar sounds absolutely amazing! I can't see the attached picture though...it may be just me.

@RainbowZebraWarrior you Choisya looks lovely! The laminated book marks sound like a lovely idea. I do love flower pressing.

@MrsJLevinson no I forgot 🤦🏽‍♀️ it's in a separate post above though now.
And I forgot to say thank you to people for being kind about my attempts with pastels!
I admired Nigel's cornus yesterday too @RainbowZebraWarrior - mine is just on the cusp of flowering but not quite there yet. I think dogwood is a different thing? I have what I think is a dogwood in my front garden but its days are numbered - I've been wanting to get rid of it for several years but it is just overwhelmingly huge so I will have to Get A Man In and then it becomes a much larger project than I probably want, and will probably snowball to redoing the whole front garden. Which is desperately needed, it is extremely overgrown and scruffy, but I can't quite face it.
Love your buddha in the blossom. Isn't May wonderful (even when damp and grey like today)

@Celiathebanshee I’ve seen the photo, it looks lovely :) fingers crossed it becomes a success

Just caught up. My what interesting lives you all have. Especially the podcast @RainbowZebraWarrior. I will bookmark that. Such an interesting idea, I always meet fascinating people on train journeys.

It's our 30th wedding anniversary afternoon tea today. The vases of fresh flowers are all ready, my speech is written, the playlist is done so I am just chilling with my kindle. It's cooler than I hoped it would be so I have added layers under the summery dress I bought to wear for today.

I've also decided to take redundancy. It's a scary thought but I am burned out and need a few weeks off which this will give me. Hopefully I can get something else in time but we can afford for me to be off for the rest of the year (although that would remove all hope of a holiday in Japan in 2028). DH has been amazing, a real rock.

That looks amazing! Reminds me a bit of our independent bookshop. It's also really expensive, but we make sure we visit and buy at least every couple of months. They also get all the good authors in.

I think cornus is known commonly as Chinese dogwood, which is different to the usual dogwood. Either way, I think I now need to find a space for the one Nigel shared 😊 Also, I know what you mean about having to Get A Man In and it snowballing into a project. Speaking of projects, I have managed to source some fabric very similar to your wallpaper as I felt the need to recover my bedroom lamp shade!

I shall make a little medley of photos once my roses start flowering @MrsJLevinson which will hopefully be <looks out of window> in about a month. I could also do with checking the varieties as some were already here when I moved in.

Ah, there we go. Every day is a horticultural school day! Thanks x

Oh wow that looks lovely @Celiathebanshee

Hope you have a fabulous celebration @piscofrisco and well done on making that difficult decision. It'll all work out.

A friend shared this with me earlier and it reminded me of @RainbowZebraWarrior - https://www.instagram.com/reel/DX4QJd6Co_L/?igsh=MXZ2cWV4ZHpidWZmag== (the beachcombing, not the appearance!).

Another damp day here but the garden is loving it. Enjoying seeing the holly blossom alongside last year's berries. And the cats are also on the windowsill right over the radiator here.

Have a lovely day today @petitpasta - look forward to seeing some pics of your venue in all its glory. I'm sure your redundancy decision is the right one - better to be one of those leaving than one left behind to sort out the mess. A new window will open for you, you just can't see what it is yet so try to enjoy the time in between - your party with DH sounds like a great way to start.

Oops I got my Ps muddled up, meant @petitpasta not @piscofrisco above!

@EphemeraleEudemonia
If Christmas is thought about all year here, I’m in!
We took RippleDog for an extremely bracing beach walk early today followed by coffee and cake.
Now on our way to the garden centre to get some plants after RippleDog accidentally destroyed a few whilst barrelling after PoshCat (I think it’s a Bengalese and has been known to go on lead walks) in the back garden.
Got an M and S picky bits lunch with DD who is supposedly revising for her IB exams…

That little video is the sweetest thing ever! I love stuff like that and am now following.

Have an amazing day @petitpasta and I hope you can properly relax now that the tough decision has been made. Scary decisions often turn out to be the best ones in the end. Pleased your DH has been a rock and all the more reason to celebrate your anniversary. I'll raise a glass to you both later this evening 🥂