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 glad you like it @Bimblesalong, it's dreamy.

Yes it was me and I thoroughly enjoyed that bit, too. I think it was made all the better that it was Monty reading out that list. Proper laugh out loud funny and he really seemed to enjoy himself. Hope they get him back on again soon.

Good luck! https://www.caneyforkfarms.com/blogs/news/sweet-and-sour-braised-rainbow-swiss-chard

That is really beautiful @leporello , thank you for sharing. We saw lots of seals when we were in Cornwall over Easter :) - like deer, it always feels a bit special when you see a proper large wild animal. After I had listened to it on youtube, it auto-played them singing 'All Seems Beautiful to Me' which is a (bit of a?) Walt Whitman poem and also glorious.
It's colder than it looks here today, too. I forced myself out for a little run after dropping DD off at school (GCSE art for her today/tomorrow, any crossed fingers appreciated) then met a friend for coffee so feeling quite cheerful and less slug-like than I have of late even though I have NO WORK in and have had NO WORK at all this month. Trying not to worry about that, I've worked through feast and famine for years and it always picks back up. Will make the most of it and get out in the garden (well wrapped up).
And looking forward to 'night school' tonight. Massive palaver to enrol but I'm doing beginner watercolours and going with a friend.
DD2 has left China and landed in Seoul where she is staying with one of my best friends so I can relax a bit while she's there.

Oh yes to the weather being deceiving. It was 7 degrees at the beach this morning but with the wild waves and Crazy wind it seemed much colder. My hands were completely numb and I noticed that everyone else was sensibly still wearing big coats.

Saw this gorgeous little family. She was heading in the direction of the road, so I was ready to stop the traffic if need be. Thankfully she decided to hop over a low sry stone walk instead. Cue a very cute video of baby ducklings trying to jump up and over after her and much quacking. Thankfully they all made it over eventually - all 14 of them!! -That's a very large litter size for one duck!

Thankyou @Celiathebanshee:)
Beautfiul day here but with a nip to the wind. I was left in charge of the flower subscription flowers this morning as my colleague was off (for £25 a month you get either two posies or one big bunch of flowers grown on the farm). I have plundered the fancy tulips and added some bluebells that had seeded themselves somewhere they will be likely to get trampled on.
quite pleased with my efforts! The orchard is starting to blossom nicely now-what a joy.

Love those ducks @RainbowZebraWarriorwe saw some last night and spent ages watching them -they were very comical getting told off by the mother duck when they tried to shoot the rapids.

Good luck to dd of the banshee for her art exam :)

It’s was very cold here this morning, I stuck the heating on for a couple of hours.

Planned admin day with work so I’ve been at home all day and I’ve not moved much, at least I’ve managed to get some towels out drying on the line. I do love line drying.

I was hoping my copy of CC would have arrived today but it doesn’t look like it will. My late mom liked Nigel Slater and we got her a copy of Real Cooking one Christmas, made me a bit emotional looking through her Facebook to see which one it was (she would put everything on Facebook 😂) I think that’s why I look forward to winter and the festive season so much, it holds so many good memories.

That’s the lovely thing about cookery books isn’t it @MrsJLevinson-the memories they hold. I swear by my mums Dairy book of home cookery that she got free from the milkman possibly in the late 70’s…she taught herself to cook from it, and then so did I. I don’t do many of the offal recipes mind :)
Flipping freezing overnight here. I dare not look at the bedding plants I left out on the garden table overnight.
I feel very achey from Pilates but in a good way. Day off today so I have a long over due nail appointment, then a long dog walk planned, plus the usual Wednesday cooking and cleaning before I go and fetch the DSS’s from school.
I also need to find a frock for my neices’s wedding in three weeks time. I’ve left it a touch late possibly. She is something of a quirky fashion influencer so I need something slightly less formal, but stylish and still wedding ish-and obvs something that still covers my peri meno tum… so that should be simple to achieve 🙄.
I think I want something in green or chartreuse which I suppose is a good place to start.
Have a lovely Wednesday all

Ah my Mum used to get the Dairy Diary from the milkman every year. I loved it as it always felt so exciting and grown up to browse through. I still have and use my Mum and my Nanna's beaten up old BeRo books.

I know you already have a One Hundred Stars kimono, and OHS are my absolute go to for dresses. I find the Abbi ones particularly flattering as some of the other cuts make me look like a sack of taties. They dont seem to have any of the Abbi ones in stock at the mo. This one is gorgeous though and I am a big fan of the willow print. The green version is new for Spring.

onehundredstars.co.uk/collections/dresses/products/giant-willow-green-obi-dress?_gl=1xvgyvd_upMQ.._gs*MQ..&gclid=EAIaIQobChMIv7z__uiAlAMVmY5QBh0Osx-lEAAYASAAEgLG-fD_BwE

Oh no! at the bedding plants. As a NE England resident I know I can't risk owt outside until late May, so I guess it's ingrained in me not to even think about it until then, but it's so easy to just 'pop them there for now' and then forget about them. Certainly been there and done that. We are forecast frost tonight.

I have managed to plant up four dahlia tubs. Only 10 more to go, so if I can manage 2 a day I'll be done by the end of the month. I am very happy with my giant cloches and wish I had bought them years ago. Going to plant up a big pot today for my Mum with Dahlia and Sea Holly.

My Mum and Dad's - new to the area - next door neighbour had to be rescued by the RNLI on Monday. She had gone across to St Mary's island with her carer in her wheelchair (no mean feat!) and had a medical episode. By then, the tide was in. We've also had four folk rescued from the causeway at Lindisfarne in the past week so there have been many reminders on local news about taking note of tide times as we go into the madness of the spring and summer season. As a coastal dweller, it was drummed into me to follow the tide times (as well as respecting the sea) as a kid, but I am always surprised how many times I hear "ooh I wonder if the tide is coming in or going out" when I'm down the beach. I likely sound like a smug arse. I'm not, I'm just very risk adverse and an avid rule floower.

Picked up this book from the book table yesterday to pop away for winter reading. It's by the author of Fried Green Tomatoes which I don't actually think I have read.

Ooh I didn’t know they did dresses! Off to look now!
I nearly got stuck on Lindisfarne once. Getting stuck on causeways has terrified me ever since!

Yep.i popped them outside to water them, and forgot to bring them back in. They don’t look very happy at all. That’s the first frost we have had touch our back yard all year as it’s very sheltered. Annoying!!

I bought the skirt in that green willow print from One Hundred Stars, love the print and the wide waistband.

Exciting news of the day is that I was behind Billy Bragg in the ticket queue this morning. He was a bit miffed because he'd forgotten about the tube strikes this week. Was it Heat magazine that used to feature readers' pathetic celebrity sightings? Definitely one for that 😀.

A slightly miffed Billy Bragg seems like an appropriate indication of the nation's mood @leporello 😂

What a lovely dress, I'd not heard of that brand.

@RainbowZebraWarrior I can't believe people don't pay attention to the tides! I did once very nearly get stuck in the mud at Cleethorpes, mind you - there were no warning signs and I tried to walk back along part of the beach which I later learned people had been rescued from (I thankfully got away with a bit of a fright and very muddy legs!)

Sorry about your plants @piscofrisco. I think it was quite cold here last night too - at least, I didn't throw the covers off at any point, which is unusual.

It's a lovely day here, but I have two hours of data protection training this morning and an online event to run this afternoon. Will try to get a bit of lunchtime sunshine in though.

@piscofrisco MIL has also passed on a few cook books to me, one was a present for her own mother who sadly passed away a few years ago. It’s so true with regards to the memories they hold.

Currently sat in my car on an Asda car park whilst I’m in between visits, haveing a drink. Bright and clear day here, doesn’t seem as cold as it did yesterday.

I’d managed to get one load of washing on the line to dry before I left at 9am, and another was in the machine - hopefully DP will sort that one out before I am back home later.

DH has turned the cascade in the pond on (on a timer) because he says there is zero chance of a frost now. I think he speaks too soon and we are at risk for a few weeks yet ... we will see (I don't think it actually matters if we do, in terms of the pond pump). I have not put the automatic timer for the watering system out yet because that really does get killed by frost.
I've washed the fancy cashmere blanket off our bed and it is on the line in the sun, ready to go away for the summer. Not swapping my clothes over yet though.
My dahlias are not doing anything at all! New ones bought this year, they've been in pots in the cold frame for weeks, and no shoots at all.
That one hundred stars dress is really beautiful! (a) I do not need any more dresses; (b) I have no looming occasions to justify purchase regardless; (c) if I did buy a new dress it really needs to not be green as I have far too many green dresses; and (d) I made a splurge purchase of a palava dress this week, which is being delivered tomorrow. Please do not share pictures of lovely dresses on this thread as I have zero willpower.
I have handwritten cookbooks from both my grandmothers. My dad's mum was in service in a manor house (Avebury, for those who know it) (that's two generations ago and sounds like a million years, doesn't it) and ahead of her time with curries and suchlike - she was an excellent cook. Mum's mum was (a much nicer person and) a good plain old-fashioned cook. I am delighted with both and often get them out for a browse although I rarely use either of them to actually cook from.

A good spot @leporello.I used to love that celebrities in the wild feature in Heat. And many congratulations on your skirt.
a cascade sounds very fancy @Celiathebansheeim envisioning the one at Chatsworth!
I hope you got through your data protection training @martha79that kind of thing makes me want to gouge my eyes out as I get so bored. And that’s why I’m not management material anymore!
Love a line dry @MrsJLevinson. though I don’t currently have a washing line, just some annoying laundry dolly’s that fall over in the slightest breeze.
I’ve been for my nail appointment, bought some veg off the market, bought a very beautiful hot pink cardigan, and then also a pair of trousers to go with it. Which is good going for me before 12.25.
sun is shining, and dogs are about to have a lovely walk :)

Also the man on the front stall gave me a free plum when I told him to keep the change from my veg. What a lovely little glimmer that was :)

A free plum is excellent @piscofrisco ! And I was all set to correct you on the scale of the cascade (what else could I call it?) but I've decided to let you continue to believe I live at Chatsworth 😂It's probably for the best. Very accurate.
What I really want, and it is no good because I don't live in Chatsworth we had the garden landscaped 3 years ago and I can't muck it about again, is a rill.

Hooray for getting a free plum.

I have survived the data protection training. Just. I used to deliver data protection training (in a voluntary role) and quickly realised that nobody wants to sit and listen to it - I created some short documents and videos instead, and tested people with a quick survey, so I only had to follow up with the ones who didn't get it or had more questions.

I was thinking about Chatsworth this morning - as in having an outing, I've not been for ages. In fact I've never been inside the house, only the grounds, cafe and a firework display in the gardens once. And some very long walks in the surroundings in the past. Only trouble is my next opportunities (with the friend most likely to accompany me and do the driving) are the bank holidays weekends, i.e. the busiest possible time.

Popped into the garden and realised everything is quite dry and there's no rain forecast until May! So will be watering this evening.

A cascade sounds very fancy @Celiathebanshee I'm envisioning the one at Chatsworth! Me too 😂 I think we really need a photo. Also, absolutely fascinated to hear about your grandmother being in service and I was just pondering how much times have changed in a relatively short period and also how we talk now about jobs being lost to AI or whatever, but really this is nothing new. That is a whole sector and way of life which has disappeared - probably for the best! Just googled Avebury Manor, but apparently it has been closed due to severe flooding in 2024. It's great that you have her cookbooks. Did you talk to her about her life below stairs?

I arrived home to find that my copy of CC has arrived, hooray. I plan to get cosy and have a flick through it tonight.

A busy work day, in fact quite stressful by the end and with my overthinking mind it isn’t great. So I took myself off for a walk (inevitably always end up at the retail park) and ended up having a look in the Range.

I was looking through the camping stuff, to find a small display of Christmas decorations! Not a great selection, but I was very surprised to see them!

I grew up (and my mum still lives) 5 minutes from Chatsworth. It my most favourite place in all the world. I can picture you all frolicking about the lawns and up to the hunting tower…maybe that should be our thread trip?!
I used to be able to walk to The Range @MrsJLevinson-And a Homesense and Marksies. I didn’t realise how lucky I was >sighs wistfully <.