The Year Round Nigel Slater Discussion Thread - Part 5

[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 on Mumsnet 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!

Had a lovely day had lunch and then spent the afternoon at the local dog friendly beach with national trust parking

then gone out for margaritas and whilst the food was nice the main thing to write about is the views.

the house with the turrets in the distance is my you know I’ve won’t be lottery when I’ve brought that house

Have you got a faraday cage @LillianGish ?!

I had to google what that was @Bimblesalong. We have certainly just had the mother of all electric storms - with not enough rain for my liking. The temperature has now dropped to 28 degrees, which is what passes for cool these days. Went to my final tap class of the summer at 1pm today when it was a considerably warmer 36 degrees and my teacher had rigged up this hilarious Heath Robinson cooling system (which was surprisingly effective!)
Your day out sounds fab @LatteLady - I used to work with Suzy Menkes at the International Herald Tribune when I first moved to Paris. Legend does not cover it. I could never believe that such a fashionista could have such a hairstyle - definitely a case of do as I say not as I do.

We have pleasant warmth with a breeze here, very acceptable. I saw some clips of the Paris thunderstorm, whoa @LillianGish, hope you enjoyed rather than endured it.

Sang in our choral society summer concert last night in a beautiful medieval village church. The theme tied in with the 250th anniversary of the US so plenty of American classics plus some newer pieces, including one I found hard to sing without welling up as it was written in memory of the composer's young friend, killed in the 2016 Paris attacks - Let My Love Be Heard. So moving.

That sounds like a lovely concert @leporello

Gorgeous views @CrushingOnRubies

Hope you are ok @LatteLady, that's very unsettling.

Had a friend over for lunch and 'cinema at home' this afternoon - watched The Sheep Detectives which we really enjoyed. Today's Uber Eats treat was from the cafe attached to a local gym - rice/ salad bowls and very nice smoothies.

It's much cooler today and I've finally got a decent breeze going through the house so am now upstairs lounging about enjoying that, whilst listening to a Moomin story on Radio 4.

He went today. Just wasn’t interested in anything. Not eating, barely moving. Took him to the vet and they did it in the boot of my car. It was as good a way to go as any.

It’s far from a tragedy for him to go at that age, but I have a huge hole in my heart and life. All warriors lay down their arms in the end.

I'm sorry @MichaelmasDaisiesAndAutumSunset RIP DDog.

Oh my love. So sorry to read about this. Sending you a very gentle, but heartfelt hug x What an incredible life he had. And yes, what a bloody warrior.

From one warrior to another, I salute him. Rest easy, bonny lad ❤️

@MichaelmasDaisiesAndAutumSunset sorry for your loss. It's so hard.

His race is run. Lucky dog to have such a life and to be so loved.

So sorry @MichaelmasDaisiesAndAutumSunset -❤️ for your little warrior.

So sorry @MichaelmasDaisiesAndAutumSunset for the departure of your epic companion.

So sorry @MichaelmasDaisiesAndAutumSunset about your Ddog.

So sorry about your lovely ddog @MichaelmasDaisiesAndAutumSunset, you will miss him terribly 💐

Well, this week it appears I am continuing my 'Tour of Hospital Departments of the North East of England'
At the moment, I am in A&E with my Dad (Query Sepsis) Tomorrow we will be back at plastics, then on Wednesday the merry go round starts proper with the prostate nonsense. I also have medicsl appointments for both myself and DD on Tuesday and Wednesday too. Much Fun.

Our library festival / craft stall at the weekend was soul destroying, so I have said Never Again. We left two hours before the end as we had had enough, and were both totally overwhelmed. A quiet day yesterday restored a little balance.

It is also fair to say that a lot of, shall we say, 'Troubled Folk' frequent free spaces like libraries. This is really not something I currently have the energy or patience for quite frankly. I did bump into a very dear and beautiful friend and had a quick hug and a catch up, so that at least was balm for my soul.

Hope everyone else is ok.

So sorry to hear about your dog @MichaelmasDaisiesAndAutumSunset, but it sounds like a life well lived which is all any of us can ask for. Also sorry to hear about your disappointing craft fair @RainbowZebraWarrior - that really does sound soul destroying especially after all the preparation. It doesn't sound as if your week of medical appointments will be doing much to counteract that either, but knowing you, you'll be carving out some small moments of joy before long on a beach or in the garden. The temperature has finally dropped a bit here so we are all breathing a bit easier and sleeping better at night.

Sorry about the craft fair and the round of medical appointments @RainbowZebraWarrior

I'm on the round of house viewings again - didn't hear from the last one and it's on their website as 'let agreed' now so.... saw a nice terraced house this afternoon, said I'm interested, lots of viewings though again so let's see... I just don't have the energy to be enquiring about loads at once/ arranging multiple viewings.

Thanks @martha79 and @LillianGish

I've just picked up Dad from A&E as I had to dash off to get DD from school. It's cellulitis (which would have turned to sepsis within 24 hours had we not been on the ball). I was actually on the beach when I got the call from my Mum to take him to hospital. Tbf, I had been there for two hours, so at least I had my time in my happy place. Having had cellulitis myself a few Christmases ago, the antibiotics they give you are not fun. I was told in no uncertain terms that they would give me a very upset tummy - and they swiftly did - just a shame Dad has to navigate a few unpleasant appointments and procedures in the coming days. He's already been told off for 'putting off' last week when he was recovering from his operation. I just wish he could get a bit of a flipping break!

It must be exhausting looking for properties @martha79 so I am hoping for your sake that something great comes along very soon for you my lovely.

Pleased to hear that the temp has finally dropped a bit for you @LillianGish

Your poor dad @RainbowZebraWarrior, that's a lot going on at once. Really glad you caught the cellulitis quickly.

Saw the house, it was nice, said I'm interested, lots of viewings again so it'll basically be down to who the landlord likes most. Not getting my hopes up, am feeling quite done in with it all but if this one doesn't happen, just need to plod on.

No wonder you didnt have spare bandwidth for characters at the craft fair @RainbowZebraWarrior . Those hospital appointments are a full time job.
Good that the cellulitis is being treated but sorry he's having such a challenging time which in turn means you are.

A cuppa ☕️🫖

Spare bandwidth is a good way of putting it, thanks.

I am actually looking forward to my hospital appointment on Wednesday, as I am finally being proactive about my own health issues. Scary, but needs must, in order to see where I am at regarding joint replacements. I simply cannot go on being in a world of pain and putting off because of my responsibilities.

I see the Strangers on a Bench podcast was featured in the NY Times at the weekend. I think my episode should be up by around late July.

Can't beleive it's actually the last day of June tomorrow!

Thanking my lucky stars / finding a moment of joy among the chaos:

I found this Gold Bearing Quartz today under a little rock formation with a mini waterfall on the beach today.

I definitely need to rest a bit, so that was a happy find that will sustain me for a while 😊

What a lovely sparkly thing.

It was a no - at least they let me know quickly. I do suspect that landlords generally prefer couples if that's an option, so they have the security of two incomes.

That's a bit crap @martha79 but I think you might be right. I remember being refused a M&S credit card years ago due to being a single female. Too risky, apparently 🙄

So sorry about your dog @MichaelmasDaisiesAndAutumSunset , it's so hard when they go.

You and your DDad are having such a tough time at the moment @RainbowZebraWarrior , so I'm sending lots of sympathy and positive vibes your way too.

Standing at a fair can be exhausting. I know I am usually wiped out by the time we get home from our antiques one. I always make an extra large picnic lunch so that we can have the leftovers for supper and no one has to cook. We had our fair on Sunday and it was a pretty slow day. Footfall was ok but sales were not as good as we'd like. It was the same last month as well. Looking at the stock we had out, it was mostly china and glass, so I think we need to re-evaluate what we are buying and try to introduce more variety. I think we might need to frequent a wider variety of salerooms as well. So a lot of thinking and research to do. Mind you we have just bought a couple of things this week that we know are going to be hard to sell. They are a couple of silver pennies from the reign of King John, so about 850 years old. We just couldn't resist it, all that history! They are actually not all that rare, and not hugely expensive either, so if they don't sell for a while, I shall simply enjoy owning them!

Well, I think I shall be glad to see the back of this month... work has been challenging, not due to internal issues but external pressures. My lovely boss's daughter was blue lit to hospital with a cardiac issue on Sunday afternoon, thankfully home now with a differential diagnosis but no indication of the cause as of yet. My upstairs neighbour texted me at 10:00pm last night to ask what my water pressure was like... so up I gets and it is low, so I check out the water board's website and can see a number of local leaks which could be affecting our bldg. And as to mosquito bites... I have stopped counting

As I do not appear to have won the £1m on the Premium bonds, I am seeking solace in the scent of a beautiful red rose in the garden, with a cup of coffee.

I do, however, have a punnet of cherries in the fridge which I will eat later today... so all is not lost!