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!

So sorry to hear about your dad @RainbowZebraWarrior
Good luck today @piscofrisco I hope there is some cover, lots of ice and opportunities for rest.
I have a client this morning. My office is shaded by trees and is comfortable until around lunchtime, which should cover the time the client is here. I’ll work in the house for the rest of the day, as it’s reasonably cool in the front.

Cooling picture @LillianGish but I know what an inferno your city can be.

@CrushingOnRubies
Wow! Those peonies are stunning. Ours haven’t come out yet. I planted them during Covid as well as some ranunculus which haven’t done as well. I don’t know very much about gardening other than I know what I like to look at!

@RainbowZebraWarrior
That must have been very scary with your Dad. I’m glad he came out of it ok.

Felt glad to live near the sea yesterday. DS2 was in Liverpool with highs of 32C. City + heat is hard work!

RippleDog not a fan of the heat with his 2 coats. Although, strangely, he does opt to lay in the direct sunlight sometimes…
Taking him out soon, driving MIL home and then taking DD to the local shopping centre. A bit of a theme here. At least it’s half term.

Keep cool everyone.

@RipplePlease i can’t grow ranunculus, I’ve tried and tried and I don’t know why because I really love them. And my peony hasn’t flowered since we moved it 3 years ago 😢😢 We went into Liverpool on Sunday (to take DD3 away from revision and go to a nice craft fair - which unfortunately had been on Saturday!) and it was glorious with everybody out enjoying the sun. The thing about Liverpool I think is there is always a breeze. Which is a blessing in the summer but awful in January!
I complain for 11 months of the year about the angle they built our house - we get very little direct sun and if they’d just rotated it 20 degrees we would! But it does mean it is always cool indoors.
I did a full day’s work yesterday and hit my deadline early which means I don’t have to do anything today. Meeting a friend later. Might stew some rhubarb

Good morning you lovely lot.

Thanks for all the well wishes. My Mum is just so proud of DD. I must admit, I have tried instill practicality and pragmatism into her, and also had many a 'What to do in an emergency drills', largely courtesy of my police training I suppose. Just waiting to hear latest news re: Dad.

We were supposed to be building a storage bench in the garden and then going to our little Italian Trattoria for lunch, but DD is under the weather with a cold / virus so is installed on the sofa with a blanket and a load of fruit, snacks and Disney+

I went down the beach at 7am before madness ensued, and it was glorious. Sea was like a mill pond. My pals down there all told me it was crazy yesterday. 20 degrees here now light cloud and a gentle breeze which is our top forecast for the day. Perfect spring day in my book. I'm just going to bob about in the garden and be on call if needed and also take a lamp shade out there to recover (better done outdoors; spray adhesive) Of course, Mr D has now settled himself down on the fabric I have just lay out to be cut....

I just found my huge unsent post from Wednesday, which I thought went through prior to my computer dying again. Have nursed it back but it's rather last legs, so if I vanish it's the most likely reason.

@RainbowZebraWarrior A now very belated Happy Birthday day! 🎂
Lovely news about DD's school awards and general happiness. Hope the cold/virus passes soon.
Sorry you and Dad are going through such a roller coaster. Everything crossed for you both.

@MrsJLevinson I actually don't know what to focus on making tbh.

Got an unexpected opportunity to do a mad day dash on the boat to Europe and back on Saturday with some samples, in the hope of summer orders for Christmas, but unplanned so only able to take part ready 'base' birds and bells.
(I know I need to have samples of everything ready, but it never quite works out)

Got caught in the Dover chaos on the way out (nothing like as badly as many, but missed the first boat out) and pulled for customs checks on the way back, so a 2am to 2am day which I used to take in my stride, but my body no longer does, especially in this heat.

Have to catch up later as an invite to present myself for a discussion about a possible chance of much needed work has literally just popped up when I started typing, and all though it's not for a few hours, I need more than that to try and prep myself.
Hope everyone has a cool enough lovely day.

Oh I don't know how many times I have done that @EphemeraleEudemonia with the unsent posts. Good luck with the work discussion. Fingers crossed! I never have all that I am supposed to have ready crafts wise, either! Just realised I have a stall booked next month.

TaDa! Before and after pics of the lamp shade and a bit of a tidy up of the bedside table. Most folk would likely prefer the grey! 😆

It’s 33 degrees on the farm and I am about to jump in the damn duck pond. That is all.

I'll join you @piscofrisco Doors open and fan going in the office whilst I get enough to print out and move into the house, where it's cooler. I have ice water and am in my very cool nightie now the client has gone! It is glorious out there but I prefer to admire it from the shade.

Hello all. Hope everyone is coping with the heat.

Dad is doing a bit better, but we still aren't at the bottom of things yet.

@RipplePlease I forgot to say that I sent you a PM a couple of days ago with my phone number.

If anyone wants to use my top tip about putting wet wipes in the freezer, BTW, I probably should have said to freeze them singly, as if you put the whole pack in, they just freeze into a solid lump. Single wipes frozen are lovely to wipe over the face and back of the neck to cool you down 😊

Hope they can figure things out for your dad soon @RainbowZebraWarrior

I'm all for jumping in the duck pond. Had some thunder and heavy rain here but it hasn't cleared the air, just made it more humid.

Had a nice afternoon with friend visiting - got sandwiches, salads and iced matchas delivered from Pret (though not much ice left once they'd got here) and watched Mother's Pride, which I can definitely recommend if you like a feel-good British film (including a few nice beekeeping moments).

I haven't had a TV licence for years, but have been gathering a list of things on BBC I might want to watch, and have finally decided to get a new one, so bring on Springwatch!

Oh I heard Martin Clunes and James Buckley being interviewed about that film recently @martha79 I must add it to my watch list! Pleased you've had a nice afternoon with your friend.

I'm struggling with ideas for food. Bought some picnic bits from Waitrose, but gave the Quiche to my Mum as shop bought quiche is always a weird, soggy, texture to me. Don't like Scotch eggs or pork pies, so I end up buying stuff in the 3 for £8 for the sake of it. I've cooked some chicken for tonight which I am going to have with Greek Salad and have also made myself some Angel Delight for afters (which DD thinks is disgusting!)

Really feeling for those of you who have had 30 plus temps today. Just heard that the May temp record has been broken for a second day. It's been around 18 to 20 today here, and is 16 now with a cool breeze. This little bungalow rrally retains the heat, so it's quite warm indoors - bedroom thermostat says 23.5 - but with the back door open for a while it should be a reasonably cool evening for us here.

It’s a balmy 27 degrees here. Had some stuff to do in town earlier very thankful for m&s’s air con. Then took dog for a lovely wooded walk with lots of places to paddle. Might have been too hot for her but she was desperate to get out and an unshaded garden was probably worse than a few really nice cooling paddles. May have dipped my feet in a couple of times too

27? Yowzers! Definitely better to take doggy to a shady wood. We've had a couple of doggy fatalities on the beach recently. Heartbreaking to witness.

I changed the water in my bird baths earlier and have just seen a siskin and a blue tit taking turns in one of them. Very amenable of them! Looking forward to Springwatch again tonight.

I picked up an old Christmas copy of Saga magazine on the book swap table today. I feel like a right old git, but it was a great read, and had a lovely cocktail article by Stanley Tucci. Will pop it aside to read again in winter time.

I sat in the garden and had leftover curry with garlic and rosemary potatoes for lunch today. Couldn't have done that yesterday! Garden is a bit overgrown, but I'm fine with that as it attracts more wildlife 😊

@RainbowZebraWarriorthat’s so sad about the doggy deaths 😢😢😢

no judging here about saga magazines. My dad turned 50 when I was about 10, and the first thing he did was join Saga. I used to read the magazines every month as a guilty pleasure. Reading the agony aunt about grandchild woes at the age of the grandchild was eye opening .

also looking forward to spring watch tonight and who do you think you are is back this evening. Which is another big favourite of mine .

We had our coffee outside this morning (33 degrees here today and I went for a walk up a hill with a friend! Probably not very sensible but it was wooded and shady and we both like the heat) (tired now though. Just got the washing in and watered the baby plants and now taking to the sofa) and a sparrowhawk came and sat in our cherry tree for a few minutes before zooming off across the back of the garden. So lovely to see. Who needs Michaela Strachan bouncing about when you can have that 🤣

@CrushingOnRubies my granny had ‘Bella’ and ‘Best’ alongside the readers digest. I learnt everything I know from their problem pages

Gosh, I wrote to Bella when my Mum turned 50 and asked them to do a makeover for her. They invited us down to their studios in Battersea and did a huge makeover on her and paid for our hotel and expenses etc then never actually featured her. I reckon it was because there wasn't enough difference in the 'before and after' pics. She hated the makeup - bright purple eyeshadow - and the see through black top they put her in.

It was 34 degrees on the farm. Fortunately I am currently beneath a huge storm which is cooling things down a treat. It’s still saying 28 for tomorrow though-but that’s manageable ish work wise .
It looks a lovely lunch RZW. I have been so hot today that I’ve barely any appetite so I’ve had a few boiled eggs and a bit of toast. DD and I are just settling down to watch the new Tom hanks documentary about World War Two.

Lordy. I think there's something of an East / West divide tonight and tomorrow weather wise as it's freezing here now and I have my cardigan on. Chilly and overcast forecast for tomorrow. Enjoy the Tom Hanks documentary. I'll bookmark that for me and DD, too as she loves anything WW2. I've also literally just picked up his book Uncommon Type to start reading after Springwatch.

I'm not sure I've ever read a Saga magazine but my grandad used to get Readers Digest and there were always a stack of them in the bathroom - remember them seeming very grown up and authoritative when I was a kid! I also gained some confusing knowledge from my grandma's collection of Mills & Boon books 🤣

Talking of books, my copy of Miranda's book arrived today, looking forward to giving that another go.

It has finally cooled down a bit here - was up to 32/33 again and I think quite a lot of my garden veg may not have survived despite early morning waterings. The spinach has just shrivelled up. Supposed to be a much cooler day tomorrow, thank goodness.

It was 32 here today, down to 24 now but forecast 30 again tomorrow. Fortunately I work in an air-conditioned office. Apart from work and sleep I have barely been indoors for the last few days, been sitting out till bedtime. A few weeks ago I bought a couple of portable USB rechargeable fans and they have been brilliant, they are very compact and light and you can set them up wherever you are including outside.

@RainbowZebraWarrior I’m sorry about your Dad, mine has had a string of very serious health events (stroke, falls, various cardiac episodes) and is still with us, but it is always extremely worrying. He was saved by the use of a defibrillator at one point. Fingers crossed for yours.

@martha79 DH and I saw Mother’s Pride at the cinema and really enjoyed it. Sadly it looks as though we missed The Christophers, only one showing this week and that’s when we’re both at work, but till keep an eye out for it, hopefully it will be on streaming at some point.

Morning all-a mercifully cooler night for us thanks to a big storm and it’s a bit chillier out there this morning though set to be 27 later at work. At least some sleep has been had.

My Dad used to get Readers Digest @martha79and I probably read it more than him. I used to quite enjoy it. Does it still exist? I could go for it actually. In the paper form. Might be quite nice to dip in to through the week.

We also had that fan @EasterlyDirectionbut it mysteriously disappeared when DD2 left after the weekend to go to the cheese rolling in Gloucester with her friends….

The Tom Hanks thing is quite good so far. But obviously not a patch on the gold standard, The World at War, narrated by Laurence Olivier, which I think is what got me in to History. It was the Tuesday morning lesson at our primary school, on the big communal telly on big legs that got wheeled in every week. If it comes on TV now I always stop and watch it. The theme tune takes me right back to sitting cross legged on Coir matting and that school smell of chalk and school liquid soap.

Up and in to work I suppose. My days are all messed up as I had Monday off instead of today and I didn’t realise how much of a routine I’d got stuck in to. What that means practically is that we’ve barely any food in the fridge and the house looks like a bomb has hit it!
Snuggles with Daschund first though :)

Have a lovely Wednesday all

Morning, I dug out our big tower fan for the bedroom last night because you can set it to go off after an hour unlike the USB ones and did sleep much better (hadn't use anyvfan the previous nights). It's 18° already. Ooof. Off to work in a bit. @piscofrisco my DS went to uni in Gloucestershire and always say he wishes he'd entered the cheese-rolling, I'm glad he didn't, images of shattered legs fill my mind.

Just been doing a delay repay for a failed trip to London on the train at the weekend, it was a right mess, a whole (small) trainload of us got stuck at an unmanned village station for 2 hours because of signalling faults, I eventually gave up on meeting my friends and phoned for DH to pick me up again, just as well because the train home that night was also cancelled. I have to say the guard did a great job of looking after us I have sent in positive feedback to the train company.

Gosh i feel like i live on a different planet to most of the rest of the UK today. Absolutely freezing. Hoodie, vest and gloves on, but still cold due to the wind. 13 degrees max today. Hands are already numb. Should have stayed in bed!