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!

@piscofriscohave a wonderful time at Harlyn it’s a firm family favourite. The new newly done up cafe and pub across the road is worth a visit for a coffee to warm up after a surf. My story about the Surf school is that my Uncle once hired out surf boards for my cousin, me and my uncle. He had enough cash for the surf boards but not a deposit. So he gave him his Rolex watch as a deposit instead.

@RainbowZebraWarriorthat’s awful about the cargo ship and all that plastic now in the ocean.

Yesterday went on a walk we have done a few times but down a new path. Got very lost and needed up almost in a field of cows. But ended up at quay where the dogs had a paddle and next time will definitely bring my swimming stuff.

@petitpastamen like that wind me up. I deal with a couple of similar sorts at work. And you just know they’re sent around to intimidate slightly clueless not used to giving up the keys before. Thank goodness you where there to say what’s what

I had to Google what a nurdel is. That’s awful. I hate mankind sometimes. Why on earth do we need these things??

Well done @petitpastafor showing the man what for. I had a similar experience with the letting agent that was actually in charging of letting our own house. Our cleaner had missed a drawer in the freezer and there was a cobweb on the stairs and she took a huge tone with me about it. I had been at work all day and was soaking wet and cold and tired, and she got told in no uncertain terms to do one. Or else I could show her how to get rid of a cobweb with a broom. I hate jobsworths like this.

Yes. Worst possible type of plastic spillage. Teeny tiny 3mm pellets which arr basically the raw material for making plastic crap with. It's really making me rethink things. I have decided to stop eating fish (most of it is crap / farmed anyway) and I am going to try and make some changes to my purchasing habits.

Glad we went to see the tributes. Incredibly moving and brought back so many memories. The club shop is doing a roaring trade out of it mind. We also have a Peter Rabbit Trail atm. We've gotten a few bits from our favourite Chinese supermarket and are on our way home now for a restful rest of the day. Three appointments later in the week so a lazy afternoon is warranted.

Forgot to reply to you @martha79 yes I have seen that before about the social media for the lego bits still washing up 30 years later. Fascinating. I guess its a bit like the coloured glass that keeps washing up at Seaham, over 100 years after the bottlewoks closed. People keep expecting there to be none left, yet it keeps coming ashore.

@martha79one if the beaches local to me keeps getting Lego washed up. And a few years ago there was shipping containers empty pink vanish bottles and they got washed up on the shore too

Love the Peter Rabbit @RainbowZebraWarrior. We have lions here at the moment.

I currently feel like my legacy to the world will be tons of plastic packaging - built a flatpack storage unit this morning where each different part, screw and fitting came in its own plastic bag.

I've also experienced nonsense with house deposits - my previous place charged me for the garden needing tidying even though it was an absolute wilderness when I moved in and I'd done loads of work on it... plus some nonsense about a barely visible mark on the carpet which had also been there when I moved in but I hadn't thought of taking a photo of it.

I now have a bed, but no mattress (ongoing saga with useless courier). Having a lie down back at the old house now (which I suddenly no longer think of as 'home') then better do a bit more packing. I will be so happy when I don't have to type the word 'packing' for a while, though I suspect 'unpacking' may be in use for some time!

Some of the beaches down south were covered in chips earlier this year I remember.

Packaging on flat pack is just crazy. It ends up filling the room more than the item you built!

Hope the bed gets fully sorted asap and you can get properly settled in.

I have just finished the Hairdresser Mysteries which I thought was rather odd to start off with, but ended up finding it delightfully bonkers and felt quite bereft when it ended. Thanks for the recommendation my lovely.

I've just seen a drone shot of the Kevin Keegan tributes at St James' Park. Wow.

Several containers of bananas washed ashore near here last year with huge amounts of polystyrene insulation breaking up, another ecological nightmare

It truly was a beautiful sight and I was so proud of DD coming with me. Mind, it was super quiet as we went early morning.

Can anyone recommend owt else to watch? It's pretty dark and gloomy / raining on and off here, so I have got the candle lamp on and the fir cone fairy lights (I swear this happens every year as we approach August; it's like an early hint of Autumn)

Anyway. Hope everyone is doing ok. I am just about to start Bergerac and see how I get on with that, then DD and I are going to try and blitz her room (the door has barely been opened in two years. Wish me luck!)

Oh, and I have fashioned a heart out of florists wire and I am training this ivy around it. It was one of my 1p Christmas planter finds in Sainsbury's in January. I've also made these earrings. I found one triangular cobalt blue sea glass piece months ago, and the other one a couple of weeks ago. I knew they were going to be a great match.

Glad you enjoyed it! The last couple of days I've been watching Ghosts as I'd not seen the last few series.

Good luck with the tidying. I've got men with a van coming for the bigger furniture and heavier boxes tomorrow morning, and another waste collection as the bin is overflowing, so trying to get everything sorted for that. Every time I sit down the cats are climbing on me so I'm being forced to rest too.

I love Ghosts, often return to it when I can't decide what to watch. We have been on the filming tour (the location isn't far from us) and it was a great day out. DD has just got me started on Derry Girls which I missed back in the day.

@RainbowZebraWarrior one of our players died unexpectedly a few years ago (road accident) and I remember going to the ground after work to see all the tributes, there were many from our local rival team fans too, deeply moving.

@martha79 I always think it's harder to move a short distance than across the country. If you move a huge distance you tend to get a removals company in, but if it's a short distance you do it yourself. It's all to easy to say I'll do it in stages and it'll be easier, but it jolly well isn't! Our last house move was about 1 miles and I swore I was never moving again afterwards - that was 35 years ago!

@petitpasta Brain of Britain is my favourite go to when I can't sleep. If I'm not sleeping it's usually because my mind is ruminating, BoB is a gentle distraction for that without getting me too involved

Love the earrings @RainbowZebraWarrior , the blue is a gorgeous colour.

I totally agree @Confusedmeanderings - mind you, last time I moved a long way (nearly 20 years ago, from Scotland) it was one car-load plus a few bits that got stored at my parents' and followed next time they visited! I seem to have acquired quite a lot in the subsequent years... although I have been finding it surprisingly easy to declutter when it means less to transport and find space for.

It's just hit 27C here which is very inconsiderate.

I've been listening to "Nothing much happens" podcast to help get to sleep.

The author reads a short story she has written. Then she reads it again more slowly.

She's a yoga teacher and there are just two deep breaths at beginning (after a short, gentle ad).

I have discovered the sleep timer on Spotify where you can specify a time or just end of the episode. Before this happy discovery I once woke to a true crime podcast. The algorithm had failed as I have never listened to a crime podcast.

https://open.spotify.com/show/6wegpF4BHu5dQG7sTg1Cz9?si=WgwU-pK1Tc--QTpdYBDHcA&utm_source=copy-link

@HannahDefoesSpringFling the sleep timer on podcasts is a great invention. I have too woken up to a harrowing podcast at 4am. After falling asleep to something calming

Nice slow day today...good job as it's about a billion degrees on my patio!

I think I have finally whittled my office paint colour choice down to two and have set myself a deadline of tomorrow evening to commit to one. Here are my final 5 and I think I like the middle one and the right hand one best. The cushion is the same fabric as the curtains so I propped it up there for comparison.

I like the colour directly above the left corner of the cushion. It's similar to my green bedroom

Waking to a grisly podcast sounds like a terrifying thing! The one bonus of Chronic fatigue is that I don't need any help getting to sleep. I could happily sleep now, given this stupid, energy sapping humidity, but I always try to stay up and aeaye till 10pm. I might have another listen to the sleeping forecast sometime though

We are awaiting our turn for DDs podiatrist and called at Tesco for a loaf of bread on the way here. DD totally disowned me when I put googly eyes on a Butternut Squash.

That's the one that jumped out at me too.

😂 at the googly eyed squash, I would definitely buy that one.

I've done my 'big move' - had asked for the men and van just to do the bigger furniture but they had loads of space and insisted on taking everything they could fit in. Friend is coming to transport me and the cats this evening, then I think there's just one more carload to do tomorrow. Trying not to think about all the unpacking!

I wonder what Nigel would do on his first night in a new house? Probably not KFC and a sour lemon ice pop! I have also had a nice bath with Aromatherapy Associates muscle easing oil and am settled on the sofa bed for the night. The cats have found somewhere to nestle at either end of the sofa.

Sounds perfect @martha79 Happy new home!

Ah congratulations @martha79-wishing you a very happy first night in your new home.
big wave to everyone else. Just back from a dolphin watching trip after a day on my most very favourite beach in the world-Porthcothan-and absolutely exhausted, so will have a proper catch up in the morning.