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!

@RainbowZebraWarrioryour pendant is gorgeous!!

Lovely pottering sort of day today. Two gym classes before 10.30 but then took my mum to a local museum's jigsaw sale and while I was there I found these little vases which are perfect for the table flowers for our 30th wedding anniversary party - for £2.50 each! I cleared the shelves! I will mingle these in with some jars with ribbon round them.

The pendant is gorgeous @rainbowzebrawarriorand aurora is the perfect name for her.

Oh I love your pendant @RainbowZebraWarrior!

Those vases are a great find and will look perfect @petitpasta

i think your frogged flowers look great @Snooks1971-so effective. I will order from Amazon directly!

Hosting the walk was …an experience. I got actually shouted at by a woman who couldn’t find the meeting point (I had sent directions, a pin, a link to the place, which is a well known bakery with parking at the front- not sure what else I could have done), and one woman complained it was too long and went home half way through (I had clearly stated it would be 4 miles). Stressful. Everyone else that came was fine however and the Dogs got on swimmingly.
DSS was going bananas about something or other when I got home-so DD and I made a hasty exit and went into town where had a few cocktails and some wine and tipsy purchased a cardigan and a pair of trousers respectively -which I view as a great decision-DH did not enjoy his afternoon of dealing with teenage angst and his ex wife being horrible to DSS but we let him take one for the team :)
Up early this morning for Pilates and then I might go and see my mum as we haven’t been for a bit or else we will take the dogs to the nearest seaside (it’s an hour and a half, but as I do that for work most days it’s no biggy) as I’m hankering to see the sea.
Have a lovely Sunday all

Why wait @WednesdaysChild73? :) we are here all year…:) we just ramp up at Christmas and try to Nigel it up a bit more !

Great stuff! 😊

If anyone else is looking to buy a copy of CC, now is a great time of year to buy. There are multiple on ebay for £4 ish and fre P&P

Morning all!

@petitpasta those vases are darling! I love coloured glass (no surprise there) especially pastel shades.

Lordy @piscofrisco that sounded stressful (both the walk and stuff with DSS) I think this is why I shy away from arranging stuff irl. Some folk are ungrateful arses. Hurrah for tipsy shopping though. Hope pilates restores some equilibrium, and a beach visit revitalises your spirits. I was allowed 10 minutes on the beach with DD yesterday and it was lovely. I have been banned from doing 2 hrs a day though.

I have had a look at the frog vase thingys. I was hoping to see a ceramic frog with holes in for some reason. Is it just a metal spiky thing for thr bottom of a vase? (I'm not much good with cut flowers so a bit clueless)

We shall be getting up and out in an hour or so for our usual market visit. DD has made loads of new pals and has about half a dozen that she now does deals and trades with. I've left the back gate unlocked and the fence will hopefully magically be replaced by time we get back. The lad has been able to fit us in today instead of next weekend. I already have half the money from my neighbour at the back and he's around to supervise.

@martha79 I hate sitting around while folk are doing work on my house or garden. Moreso if it's late / takes too long. It makes me really spiky and unsettled. If I can, I usually just go and hide in a carpark somewhere (in the car, naturally, not hanging about behind trees or anything)

Meant to say that we also do some Makaton. DD used it a lot when she used to have frequent spells of mutism. Signing "Sorry, I cannot speak" is very effective at shutting folk up when they 'helpfully' try and keep prodding away and persuading her to talk.

Right. Must get up. Tea very much required, and Mr D is not-very-subtly howling in my face.

Gosh Rainbow, that pendant is something else!

love love love those vases @petitpasta I need to start thinking about a significant birthday I’m having later this year and how I want to celebrate with family and friends.

oh good Lord @piscofrisco that sounds like a barrel load of nonsense. You dealt with it perfectly!

I am having a slow day today. The Messiah concert and singing day to prepare for it yesterday were terrific. We ended up being a choir of around 120, with a chamber orchestra, four semi professional soloists (including a counter tenor rather than an alto) and a brilliant Welsh lady conducting. Dh and my friend’s husband were in the audience and I also met a few old faces. This included my lovely retired lady gp, the sweetest person, who confided that she had also had cancer - as with many, it had taken her a few minutes to realise who I was due to the radical hair change!

Glad you all appreciated my vases! This is the venue for our party. It's an afternoon tea for 50 people in a rural former church building which is now a beautiful events space run by some friends. The tables will have white tablecloths and there will be vintage china

The vases are lovely and so is the venue @petitpasta

Glad you enjoyed Messiah @Bimblesalong

That pendant has come out beautifully @RainbowZebraWarrior - definitely looks like the aurora. I don't drive so would be very weird if I went to hide in a carpark!

I'm attempting a return to orchestra rehearsal this afternoon so doing very little else with my day. Just emerging from about 14 hours in bed (although I did get up briefly at 6am for some breakfast). Feels like a big thing as last time I played with them was pre-Christmas when I absolutely crashed and subsequently got my Long COVID diagnosis. I feel OK so far today but will just have to see how it goes later.

Beautiful venue @petitpasta and pendant @RainbowZebraWarrior ! Congrats to everybody getting back to music etc and welcome @WednesdaysChild73 , you do not need to wait until Christmas to join!
I’ve been feeling low-key under the weather for about 6 weeks now. Bit bored of that but nothing compared to many so I am going to pull myself together today and make DH take me to the garden centre for some compost for pots. (I can get myself there but waiting for surgery on my shoulder - is this just what happens when you hit your 50s, everything goes a bit wrong? - so not up to heaving 50L bags about). I put a couple of obelisks up yesterday and planted out mange tout and sweet peas. A bit early but they didn’t want to be in pots any more (they told me!) - planning to sow French and borlotti beans today, and roast chicken for dinner. Might do the crossword. Back to work and physio tomorrow and must do something about DD3’s passport if she is going to join us on our summer holiday! She was asked for ID at the cinema on Friday and it is a good job she was as I she texted me to send a photo of her passport, which I had absolutely no idea expires next week.
@piscofrisco you deserve a medal!

There is a lovely pic of Nigel’s pristine and calm kitchen on his insta this morning. About as far away from mine currently as it’s possible to get!

Oh that venue looks spectacular @petitpasta!
is there a recording @bimbles?
I dunno about 50 and falling apart @Celiathebanshee-Im 45 and I’m creaking this morning.
enjoy market day @RainbowZebraWarrior
and very good luck @martha79you can do iiiiitttttt!

I can’t see that? I always like pictures of his very orderly home

Here y’are

I do not identify (I wonder why I can’t see it? I see tulips on his story). My kitchen has a nice island - smaller than his but also with a nice shiny granite worktop. Except it is currently invisible under a pile of unopened post, two crumby plates from DD3’s lunch, a vase of slightly dead flowers that are not quite bad enough to be composted yet, and a large amount of DD’s GCSE art - works and equipment and random pens 😭😭

He doesn’t even have anything on his windowsills 😭

edit to add: I’ve figured it out, I was thrown by his pinned posts at the top of his feed

I also do not identify with Nigel's kitchen, although mine is a reasonable size (especially for one person anyway) and relatively tidy, despite my cats' efforts to eat the herbs on the windowsill - one of them seems to have a taste for basil - and leave scattered bits of leaves on the worktops.

I've made it through half a rehearsal, and made things a bit easier by swapping parts so I'm playing second (bit lower generally and no solos) when I normally play first. Heading home now for some quiet and painkillers - my body is not thanking me for so long sitting in a plastic chair!

Thank you for sharing this! I am a long time lurker....just bought a copy of CC from Ebay for under £4 - free P+P as well!

Very pleased to have been of service and a very hearty welcome 😊

Bargain @MrsJLevinson!

And I forgot to say hello to @WednesdaysChild73 - welcome.

Been for a walk to clear my head - went a bit further than I have done lately and finally got a small dose of bluebells and wild garlic (very much a dog walking path though, so not picking garlic).

My Kitchen also doesn’t look anything like Nigel’s 😂
beautiful venue @petitpasta

Well done @martha79 step by step.

Nigel’s kitchen is great but how would you clean all those little holes in the concrete properly?

Flopped after a fairly lazy day, watching a program on the Artemis project. What a piece of work and such a contrast to the nonsense on the ground.

I’ve baked bread and cooked dh a favourite easy tray bake. Things are doing well in the cold frame too. I think the tail end of the Covid jab has tired me out - glad it’s in there though.

What a beautiful spring evening it is. Cold here, now, but the sun is still briefly shining. We have squeezed every last drop out of the final hours of Easter holidays and had a Girls Adventure down to the beach an hour or two ago with our Belle.

Came home to find a Jackdaw and a Pheasant having a screech off. Jackdaws always remind me of squeaky dog toys. I also saw my first Swallow of the season down at the beach and have also had a Buzzard in my garden. Gosh, I love spring!

Well done, @martha79 I haven't yet managed to go for a bluebell walk, but have lots in my garden. Sadly, they are the invasive Spanish variety.

Mr D is now ensconced in David Attenborough and DD is doing her nightly exercises. I shoved a chicken joint and some roast potatoes in the oven before leaving for the beach, so they are now ready for scoffage.

I planted a Russet apple tree in 2024 which did not bear fruit, but is now covered in blossom. Fingers crossed this year (the other trees are also laden with blossom - possibly moreso than last year which was a mast year - hopeful for a repeat bumper harvest) @Bimblesalong although I never knew your Dad, I always think of him when I look at my little Russet since you told us it was his favourite and all of your family now have a tree in their garden ❤️

We had a stunning sunset yesterday. I am loving the longer evenings. Spent a lot of today outdoors, I volunteer with a local river conservation team so was doing that earlier then an hour at the allotment on the way home. Also an hour in the greenhouse potting on seedlings and sowing some more.

I'd just like to thank whoever it was that suggested planting cut and come and lettuce in a trough in the greenhouse, I have had my first few pickings this week and they are perfect, never had any luck outdoors with pigeons and slugs.

forgot sunset photo