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!

Talk of those Druid Edinburgh candles on the Autumn thread made me twitchy to buy, but I am still well stocked up. They sound very Trudon-esque, mind!

Hope you find something good in Home Sense. I am going to squeeze in a visit to Home Bargains later to see about this GG merch.

It is 15 degrees here. I am in bed with a microwave pumpkin wheat bag thingy watching My Life with the Walter Boys. It's so mad!!! Going out soon to the charity shops and for our usual woody walk. Long pants and sweatshirt yet again and probably the fingerless gloves.

I've put another layer on the bed and gotten the autumn cushions out 🤷‍♀️

@piscofriscoits getting warmer here too. Warmer than expected when I just took the dog out for a stretch. It does take a bit of adjusting when DP initially comes home, we are suddenly very polite with each other. But it’s things Like remembering to ask if he also wants a cup of tea or working round someone in the kitchen. Or remembering to tell him things that have started to make the household run smoother like there’s now a dog scoop for the food. But it only lasts a few days.

the main sign that he’s due home is that the amount of Amazon parcels arriving increases

I guess if the destination has a hospital? She may be a carpe diem phase? 😬

Lalala not listening about candles, no space for any more at the moment. I had a few housewarming presents that included candles/ wax melts including a nice autumnal spice one.

I am really longing for autumn. A colleague was saying yesterday she feels like it's very groundhog day-like at the moment as the weather is just relentlessly the same.

My new microwave says you can't heat wheat bags in it, but what I think they mean is that they're a bit risky and will invalidate the guarantee.

My new dishwasher has just arrived - it's a small tabletop one but still quite heavy, so that was fun to get up onto the worktop! Just awaiting a grocery delivery with dishwasher tablets so I can try it out. Will be very glad to stop using the sink so much, my hypermobility particularly hates standing at/ leaning over it.

Have renewed my library card (never got round to collecting it last time) so may pop out to collect that and have a walk in the park at the same time. Otherwise it's a quiet day here.

Sounds like a lot of little wins there. I reckon you are right about the microwave folk not wanting liability. I can imagine some people putting them in for 2 hrs instead od 2 mins and forgetting. Walk in the park and collecting the library card sounds very productive. Btw, can you ask about a perch stool for use in the kitchen regarding fatigue and Hypermobility issues? Mine is invaluable as ai have to sit down every 5 mins in between tasks.

I have just squirrelled around in the fridge for something to have with my sour dough toast and came across the Ossau Iraty cheese xxxx I bought on your recommendation. Wow! That is something else. It already on next week's order and I am planning to include it in a Christmas cheese board for the folks. Thank you ❤️

Beach was stunning this morning. It reminded me of arriving early mornings for my volunteer work in Aus. Beautiful start to the day!

Last 2 days in pics. Foraging for sea glass this morning, cherry plums yesterday (going for more today with DD and the dog as we have found three trees now) Apples a plenty and there were bees and squirrels everywhere around us in the woods yesterday (the latter too quick to photograph!)

@martha79 sorry, I know you're not listening about candles...but you sound like a connoisseur...I asked on another autumn thread about "crackly candles" I think the poster was talking about a wooden wick.
Any ideas? They sound lovely. Also any spicy/autumnal fragrance ideas?
Ta xx

@Oneearringlostyes Woodwick are the crackly ones :)

aha! DD and I love My Life with the Walter boys!

I don’t trust those heat bag thingies since my sister gave herself a really nasty burn. Though probably her error rather than the bag!

well done @martha79-you are doing so well getting settled.

Those Edinburgh candles DO sound good!

ha! Amazon parcels are a marker of dd2 being home too. The Amazon man and I are on first name terms at this point.

some slightly bad news in that I’m in the two week wait due to a little lump and a lot of pain in my boobie. I’m sure it’s just hormonal or a cist. But will be a relief to know hopefully soon.

hotter than it said on the farm today and 30 degrees scheduled for over the weekend again. Enough is enough!

Sending hugs to you re: the two week wait. Painful is usually a good sign as mine was painful and was a cyst. Fingers crossed

Yes me and DD love MLWTWB too. Watched the first episode yeaterday morming together on the bed and we are doing one episode a night before lights out.

Ooh @RainbowZebraWarrior is the real candle expert round here. But yes, Woodwick are the crackly ones, they do a scent called Fireside which I like in autumn.

Fingers crossed for good news for you @piscofrisco

Glad you like the cheese @RainbowZebraWarrior - I must put that on my shopping list for next time. I'm generally ok with other cooking tasks as I'm moving about, it's the washing-up stand/ lean that really gets me. But will bear in mind about a stool.

Been browsing through The Kitchen Diaries this afternoon (trying to get into some better habits in the new house and spend more time with books, less online). I don't know if it was just the pages I happened to open, but am left with the impression that Nige is obsessed with lamb chops 😂I have bookmarked a few nice chickpea and cannellini bean recipes though.

Had a nice black lentil dahl for lunch but that was out of a packet!

Sorry to hear about the sore boob @piscofrisco. I had a similar scare last year and was told that the concerning signs are if it's knobbly, painless and fixed and if you don't have those signs it's probably a cyst or hormonal lumpiness. My lump was 5cm x 2cm and completely disappeared by the time of my appointment.

I'm out at a school reunion tonight. I don't know if I am keen or not. I didn't enjoy my schooldays but am going to give it a go. I can always leave early.

Had some good news today, DD and her BF have managed to get a flat. They've gone for so many but the private rentals market here is nuts and everything has 10 or more viewings. She was quite despondent last week so it's good that they have secured something.

I am another one wavering of spendy candle purchases. I do have a Jo Malone candle to burn though and a gorgeous orange Nutmeg and cinnamon one so I may have to resist!

Good news about the flat @petitpasta and ooh what brand is the orange, nutmeg and cinnamom candle? It sounds like my sort of scent. I made a frankincense and sandalwood one today and meant to put some cinnamon oil in too but forgot. Hope the school reunion goes well. We had one a few years ago which I was apprehensive about. Ended up stuck in the loos with someone who is now a much disliked celebrity and drunkenly wanted to know why everyone hated her.

I find that Nige is a tad obsessed with lamb chops, pork chops and sausages @martha79 None of which I really eat. I do love a packet dahl mind. Particularly Soul Tadka Dahl.

I am feeling a little bit wind burned today after my stint at the beach then an hour and a half all girls woodland walk this afternoon. It's been 19 degrees here which is quite hot for us lately. Took the dog with us today as Dad had a four hour bone scan at the big city hospital.

So here's our Baby Belle who has had a lovely time foraging in the woods! We got 1.5 kilos of cherry plums. Ooh, and we also saw a stoat!

Belle's cute. Does she get a lot of burrs in her fur? My sprocker, Heidi, collects them like anything at the moment.

This is the candle brand @RainbowZebraWarrior . It's wonderful and has real depth to it. You can smell it all through the house when it's burning.

Pharmacy Pot Candle — Ivison, The Lichfield Florist EST.1932 https://share.google/3UT3o13kVkRbtQXGZ

@RainbowZebraWarrior Belle is absolutely gorgeous!

But who was the disliked celebrity?!

Sending hugs @piscofrisco . Being on the 2 week pathway is scary. If it's any help, my lump, which did turn out to be cancer, was hard and fixed. It felt like a hard pea. And I didn't have any pain with it.

Sensing good wishes @piscofrisco Try not to google. 💐

An ex BB contestant who is now a loudmouth on TV. Minor celeb territory really, but she keeps whinging that she's never invited to take part on Strictly and apparently Strictly have said it's never going to happen as she's too much of a livewire.

Thankyou all re the two week wait. My appointment is next Sunday so at least not long.

Ooh. I've saved that for future reference thanks. It's actually very close to my old in-laws.

@RainbowZebraWarriorthe plastic spillage in the Tyne is currently being covered on breakfast news. You telling us about it sounded shocking enough but to see the actual pictures makes it even worse

not the cheapest thing in the world but I have a Stoovie cushion which is a rechargeable heated cushion which works like a microwave wheat bag thing but electric and I love it. They also do blankets and chair covers

off to the beach today. It’s traditionally change over day so might be quieter. But driving back from Plymouth yesterday was still quite busy.

She sometimes gets them collecting in her 'armpits' but mostly on top of her head as she has really fine flyaway fur there. We got this special two pronged grooming tool that we brush her with which is brilliant. Dad tries to keep her clipped back as much as possible and we always try to stick to the paths in the woods and avoid the long grass at this time of year due to ticks. She also gets her teeth brushed every night by Dad haha!

Crumbs. I don’t think anyone from my year at school became remotely famous but a girl in the year above became a sort of famous prostitute for a while. She went on This Morning to talk about it. We were all agog.
Hope the reunion went well @petitpasta.I think you are Brave to go. I wouldn’t be able to I don’t think-I got quite badly bullied by a few girls at school, and also I would be so paranoid that everyone would think I look rough as old boots compared to them.

DH and I went out for Sushi last night and very nice it was too. We called in to the posh hotel in town to book their little dining room for DH’s fiftieth birthday family lunch in January, and had a drink in their very beautiful courtyard. Very Nigel I think as all the tables are separated by trellis covered in very dense climbing plants (they must spend hours watering them) so they feel very private and secret garden ish. There is a food and craft fair on the town meadows today so we are going to go for an early dog walk now before it gets too hot, and then pop down to that. The DSS’s come back at some point today (unspecified due to their Mum up to her old tricks again, they were meant to be back yesterday but she declined to tell us that they aren’t actually flying back from their holiday until this morning). We plan a chilled evening watching The Sheep Detectives which I believe is now on Prime, and making homemade pizza.

A lovely day to all