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!

I'm all for daisies (and dandelions) in the lawn. I like to make out that it's because I have a nature garden, but the reality is I'm not capable of cutting my lawn very often so I have embraced it and pretend it's all deliberate 😁

Aww I would love to have seen it. I think the app causes some issues with photos and other things. I dont use it so cant advise other than to say if you just log on to MN via a Web page it should be easy to upload 😊

@RipplePlease I was talking to one of DD's friends about their prom dresses last week and was a bit taken aback when she said she'd be wearing white shoes with her navy dress. I didn't know her well enough to ask or to express any surprise (they have to be handled with care, mid-exam 16 year olds!) but I am glad you have clarified that they are a thing! DD has TWO pairs of blue shoes in the house and I really need her to decide which ones she is going to wear so we can return the other pair. She has such weirdly shaped feet, they are very long and narrow and sort of rectangular, they are the same width all the way along 😂so I'm happy she seems to have a choice of shoes that seem to stay on. Once she has decided we have to go and get the dress shortened. What a faff. I know I sound 100 years old and actually at heart I do think it is nice to celebrate, but in my day we just ... left school. Final exam, bottle of cider in the bushes down by the river, job done.
@piscofrisco we need lamb pictures. Well done Clover!
I also like daisies and dandelions (although we have no lawn, we got rid of it a few years ago and have not regretted it for one second) but I cannot stand herb Robert. I can't bear the smell of it or its horrible hairy stems like spider legs. I know the flowers are pretty, I suppose, but it gives me the willies and has to go whenever it tries to sneak in.

Love all the descriptions of winds.
We have 'bone bleaching' to describe the kind that cut clean through you, leaving the cold streak behind in the body.

@Celiathebanshee The leaves and flowers are edible. 🙂In your case you're unlikely to like the leaves if you dislike the smell, but might enjoy the flowers.

I'm afraid there was a lot about Jack Monroe that couldn't be made to add up (even by those who wanted it to) and some big issues with some of what she was promoting, especially involving nutritional needs for those with least.
@leporello's summing up as "a bit of a social media cautionary tale" is spot on.
Ultimately anything involving very vulnerable people with few resources periodically attracts those who wish to make money and a name for themselves out of it.
Some start with good enough intentions and get corrupted by the attention, others come with bad intent from the beginning.
It's very, very, difficult to combat, but ultimately it's the genuine people in need they're considered to be representing, that are most damaged by it all.

Guess who's on their way out to discuss the possibilities of pretty small change funding for projects for incredibly vulnerable folk who are in significant need, from the great and good distrustful funders...

Ew, @EphemeraleEudemonia I do not want to eat it!

Good luck with the funders @EphemeraleEudemonia

I'm with you on the herb robert @Celiathebanshee, the smell and the hairiness are both unpleasant!

We were supposed to be the first year at our school to have a Prom but it didn't happen in the end - can't remember why! Growing up in Scotland we always had the 'Christmas dance' at school and the awful compulsory Scottish country dancing lessons in PE for weeks beforehand. It was the occasion to find the nice outfit for though.

Been out to the city farm. Sheep was keeping its newborn lambs quite tucked away. Amazing to see how much everything else has grown since I last visited a couple of weeks ago. The piglets are decidedly chunky. Introduced my dad to a new favourite cafe of mine and sat outside having poached eggs on toast.

With JM I came to the conclusion that she was a very troubled person, probably with some good intentions but also a lot of issues, and the fame was not a good thing on top of that.

Hello all!

Lordy, I ache! Long day. I have been here, there and everywhere. Very productive though. Got some chips from my favourite chip shop at lunch time (Jimi Hendrix once visited there) but I regret it now as me and oily food don't get on any more. First chippy chips in years, and likely my last I think.

Totally agree with you re: JM @EphemeraleEudemonia Best of luck with the funding endeavours my lovely.

Lovely piggy @martha79 and poached eggs on toast sounds delicious. I feel like thats what I want for my dinner later. Sadly, two of our hens have recently died, leaving one lone Bantam (Bridget) She is still producing an egg a day for us though. I think we should get more, but won't push Dad as he isn't in great health at the moment. He's at the docs right now having bloods taken after being seen this morning. He reported feeling generally unwell and having aches all over this morning and reckons it's exactly how he felt just before his most recent heart attack, so it's good that they are checking things out.

The beach was bitter this morning. Still found it hard to tear myself away though.

This is a photo of the beach I used to work on taken early this morning. It is stunning, although it's very unforgiving during winter time. Especially with an Easterly wind.

Talking of white stilettos - I had no idea either that they were a thing again - we have just returned from H&M whereby I saw a Jelly Bag (used to go with jelly shoes circa 1984) DD was most perplexed by it as she is a tomboy and doesn't do mainstream girly fashion. I seriously considered buying one as I am a bit of a sad fashion victim. I was shocked to see it was £20 though. I'm sure they were only about £4 back in the day. I now realise that is because it was over 40 years ago!! I had a pink one and matching jelly shoes which totally shredded my feet.

@RipplePleaseyour DDs dress sounds lovely. Yes I think white stilettos are back in fashion.

well I’ve had a VN exchange with someone this afternoon. I have a wedding in a couple
of weeks and it’s a bit of a family tradition to to get the couple a letter opener. So contacted a local crafting stall holder I know who makes them to purchase one. Any they are at a quilting exhibition & competition show in the Malverns. And some of the quilts are exquisite.

My two DD’s wear them. They look perfectly
lovely, yet I can’t get on board with them for no reason at all. Is it a generational thing?

I LOVED my jelly shoes!

For some reason my Clover pics won’t load. But suffice to say the Lambs are very beautiful and unusually coloured-sort of beige and white. We called them Bloom for the girl and Walter for the boy and hopefully we can keep them both (though we will have a battle on our hands for Walter as he is a boy and we already have two rams).
DD2 has just walked in, so DD1 is already in a huff. We have a family wedding to go to tomorrow so we just need to get through that and then they can do what they like-I haven’t the energy for it this evening.
I’ve always fancied a proper quilt @CrushingOnRubies-they are so gorgeous and what a lot of skill involved.
what a stunning pig @martha79
Ive got The Testaments lined up next @RipplePleaseis it good?
Im sure your glass creation is grand @MrsJLevinson. I am having the same issue as you with pic loading.
How are you feeling @EphemeraleEudemonia? I’m hoping a touch better?

@Celiathebanshee
Strangely, my DD has 2 pairs of shoes with a view to sending one pair back too. Both pairs cost a total of £34!?!? I hope they’re not from Temu.
Your DD’s rectangular feet sound lovely. I am the owner of the World’s Ugliest Feet. Very long toes and huge bunions. Sorry, should have given a trigger warning.
It’s not getting any better and last year I bought a pair of Hotter sandals…a bit sad but oh so very comfy.

@piscofrisco
The Testaments is very good IMO. Not sure if you’ve read the book but it’s about what happens to June’s daughter Hannah in Gilead. There are the moments of gut wrenching bleakness as with The Handmaid’s Tale but it’s a good yarn. We get to find out Aunt Lydia’s backstory too.

@RainbowZebraWarrior
Jelly bags!!! I had a large pink one and turquoise soft jelly shoes, which were actually perfect for my nascent bunions. I also remember wearing very cheap burgundy stilettos from Curtis’s which may actually have caused my bunions in the first place.

Have a lovely weekend all.

A friend of mine has a couple of Italian Spinone dogs, one of which is called Walter. Her next door neighbour is German and calls him 'Ze Beeootiful Valter' which is just gorgeous. One of my best daily interactions is meeting dogs on the beach and learning their names. My favourite today was a Dachsund called Cyril. There is also a woman who shouts for her dogs 'Billie' and 'Piper' repeatedly. Must admit, I think about wearing my noise cancelling headphones re the last two.

Hope the wedding goes ok @piscofrisco and the DD's put their spats to one side.

Eesh my mother hasn’t spoken to my sister (who is the mother of the bride) since my Dads funeral. So it will be amazing if we all get through it in one piece. At this point I can’t think of anywhere I would rather be less! It’s like bloody Eastenders! Adult women behaving this way. I beg of you.

I’m going to refer to the lamb as ‘ze beeootiful Valter’ going forwards.

my childhood horse was called Walter. I would have had it for one of the DD’s had they been a DS.

Congratulations Clover! At last - I can breathe a sigh of relief now!

Absolute blast from the past on shoes. I feel so old at the mention of white stilettos! I feel your pain @Celiathebanshee at needing to get things sorted in a timely manner for the kinder. Totally agree with the happy memories re going down the park with friends to celebrate.

Just dropped ds2 off for his rehearsal of Mahler’s symphony of one thousand, ahead of tomorrow’s performance. It’s in the new part of a cathedral that was bombed out in the blitz. So proud of the life he’s built. It’s dad’s birthday today, two years since we could celebrate in person, so I’m reminiscing with mum. The Mahler was one of his favourite pieces, so it feels “right”.

That's a stunning photo Bimbles. All sounds very fitting for your lovely Dad. I bet he would be so proud, too ❤️

Stunning picture @Bimblesalongand what a fitting tribute to your Dad who I feel sure would have greatly appreciated it.

Stunning photo @Bimblesalong and your beach one @RainbowZebraWarrior

Hope you the wedding goes OK @piscofrisco does sound tricky.

I haven’t worn white stilettos since I was a teenager 40 years ago and haven’t seen any young people wearing them recently but we are in a small town not a fashion-forward city. It was all block heeled sandals or trainers at my DD’s prom 4 years ago (she opted for trainers but did buy new ones).

Another sunshine and heavy showers day here today, chilly wind too. Been inside most of it but did pop to the allotment for half an hour this evening to hoe all the weeds.

I can’t keep up with all the shoe talk - I read hope the DDs put their spats to one side and thought for a moment they were wearing spats to the wedding which would be more unlikely than white stilettos or even jellies! Lovely cathedral photo @Bimblesalong, DH just sent me this dramatic snap of Notre Dame - black storm clouds behind, bright sunlight in front (weather apparently as unpredictable in Paris as it is here at the moment). Your son’s concert sounds wonderful - proud mum moment indeed.

If you're like me, you know the dogs names, but not the owners!

That’s a wonderful picture @LillianGish My dh proposed to me there 35 years ago.

Ds’s dress rehearsal today and concert tonight, so mum and I will drop him off and then go to an art gallery ahead of the performance. Another couple of piccies here through into the new part of the cathedral last night.

Yes, totally! I see and chat to the same folk every single day and know their dogs names but not theirs.

Morning all.

Been up for over four hours already so it feels like lunchtime! Was down the beach for 6 30 and it was just beautiful. Only 1 degree when I left the house, but no pesky wind today. Also lovely and quiet.

Dad is poorly so we are off to stock the shop now, then it's off to market we go. Picking up a hobbycraft order for DD later (shes making bracelets to order for school pals) then home for the waitrose order coming. Hopefully I will have time and energy to make a slow cooked curry for myself, too.

Hope everyone has a good day, and all with events happening goes smoothly!

Here's a collage of some of this mornings treasures. There's some smoke glass, milk glass and safety glass among those.