The Year Round Nigel Slater discussion thread part 6

[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

N.B. The Christmas Chronicles thread proper will start in late October, ready for the book beginning on 1st November (seems a long way off, but will be here before we know it!)

Back from our hols… 3:45 am alarm clock so pretty chilled day here. Below are a selection of photos from Portugal

Waves hello to @IngenTing@EphemeraleEudemonia& @YuleBeBack

wishing speedy recovery to @piscofrisco& her dd.

Petrichor! DH thought I was being super weird yesterday when I went outside to smell the rain but now I feel vindicated ha!! Didn’t know there was a special word for it - every day’s a school day for sure….

Ooh I love a This Works candle @Bimblesalong and also swear by their Deep Sleep Body Cocoon. We also love a lego botanicals kit here, and DD has also recently gotten into the book nook kits. She's just finished one which has been a total labour of love.

Welcome.back @Celiathebanshee and welcome home @CrushingOnRubies

I am so over the novelty of rain now as we have had it for a week. I can't hang washing our or cut the grass. It's dark and cold and I cba to go to the beach this morning as it's so gloomy. Happy in -4 in January, but grey and miserable is just, well, miserable. So I am having a preserving session instead.

The allotment shows are full swing here, so we have donated some honey as apparently there are prizes to be won for donating goods. Watch this space; I may be waving a giant leek this way later today...

My biggest treat to myself this week is a big Parfums de Marly christmas candle. It is a thing of pure beauty and smells divine. Vinted bargain for £15 (RRP £75)

Here's DDs latest book nook. So much detail. 80 odd tiny individual books were made (all with real covers / titles etc) It will take pride of place on the new bookcase.

What a lovely book nook!

it’s definitely approaching autumn with all our talk of candles!

That is stunning

Hello everyone after a summer hiatus - it's interesting to see that a few of us wilted off in the heat; I think summer must be the least Nigel of the seasons.

But! There has been rain, a beguiling freshness is in the air, and last night I found myself searching autumn decor on etsy and cashmere cardies on john lewis, so the signs were auspicious for a return to the thread.

Very sorry to hear about the health and life woes in the group, big hugs to you all from the south coast. And @martha79,you are very naughty to link that gorgeous candle website, a new one to me. And an ex-bf's mum used to work at Biddulph Grange years ago, so I'm feeling nostalgic for 1992 now 😁.

So glad to blunder back in, thanks so much to our brilliant @RainbowZebraWarriorfor providing the loveliest space on the whole wide web 💐.

Ah thanks for the lovely comments about the book nook.

Also lovely to have you back and waxing lyrical about Autumn @leporello

It feels very autumnal here. Mostly because I snuck out early and cane back with a massive bag of sloes, then had a bit of a light bulb moment re: too many blackberries, so have now made Blackberry and Heather Honey jam. Oh my! Why have I never thought of this before? Why buy sugar when I have an abundance of honey? I now feel like I need to replicate the smell in candle form. A Blackberry and Honey candle. Imagine!

So I now have around 5 types of preserves carefully packed away in the pantry, as well as the rose hips and Blackberry vinegar steeping. DDs label maker has never been so busy!

Need to shell some cobnuts after lunch and make another batch of chilli jam to use up the tomatoes.

A happy Saturday to all and sending hugs to any poorly ones.

I think a blackberry and honey candle would be marvellous @RainbowZebraWarrior. The book nook is also wonderful!

Quieter day here today. I may go to our cathedral where they have an exhibition of large whale sculptures which looks quite interesting. I will obviously also be forced to try out the new cathedral coffee shop and conduct a scone audit...🤣

Blackberry and honey candle, yes, sign me up!

Ooh yes blackberry and honey sounds wonderful.

Sorry for the candle temptation @leporello - I'm holding out for payday next week here!

The book nook is amazing and I must have a look in B&M - have a friend who is a big Lego fan. I would try but having attempted jigsaws a few years ago, I think the cats would cause chaos.

Quiet day here so far, meeting a friend for a cuppa in a bit so can report back on one of the new local cafes (also they have two boxes of my stuff in their car which got accidentally left behind during the move - I honestly can't think what's in them as I'm not sure I'm missing anything!).

@RainbowZebraWarriorblackberry and honey sounds wonderful in any form. And your DD’s book nook is gorgeous

had a very wholesome morning. Went to the local farmers markets and got some sour bread and dp brought me some flowers. Dog very much liked the two free range hens which were running around.

Hello. I used to be a regular here, but dropped off the radar a bit (partly because I was focusing on losing weight and the sensuous delights of this thread were a bit too much).

I haven't been wildly autumnal yet, but DD and her best friend just had their traditional annual crumble day where they pick apples and blackberries and make crumble.

Hello all, hope it’s ok to join this wonderful thread.

I’ve lurked around for awhile after discovering the Nigel Slater read alongs via the Christmas bargain threads.
You all seem such a lovely group of people and living the sorts of lives I want for myself.
I’m in the process of making that happen this year.

My birthday is in September and so around August I always find myself looking forward to autumn and the festive season. That usually makes me drift over from Style and Beauty (where I lurk too) to Christmas.

I’ve been on Mumsnet for years, never quite brave enough to be much of an active poster but would like to try and change that alongside a lot of other stuff.

Beautiful flowers @CrushingOnRubies

Welcome back @UnimaginableWindBird

And hello to you and a hearty welcome @DimbleBingley I also lurked on the style and beauty boards, then dived in with both feet a couple of Christmases ago to the Beauty Advent Calendars threads. Addictive!

Just wanted to drop in and say I met Nigel at a book signing and hes as lovely as you'd imagine.

Happy Saturday everyone.

It's definately autumn here now, 9 degrees in the day and dropping to 2 degrees at night. And it's finally getting dark.
The leaves are changing quickly and I've put the autumn style out in the house, changed the cushion covers etc. So everything is lovely and cosy now.

Still a bit warm for me here. Beautiful walk by the river this morning. The river is low due to lack of rain but also clear due to lack of chicken sh*t runoff.

Ooh, do tell more. Which book did he sign? I have a few books signed by him, but never actually met him in person. My Mum was excited to see he had a segment of one of his old shows on Saturday Kitchen today. Makes a change from old Keith Floyd and Rick Stein reruns. I would dearly love for Nigel to make a new cookery programme.

Beautiful photos as always. It's 9 degrees at night here, but still around 16 degrees in the day, which is just perfect, as you can actually appreciate a sunny day without feeling hot and bothered. Are you still at the same address btw? I still have a parcel of goodies that never got sent your way and would love to get them off to you (mainly some St Eval candles as I know you can't easily get them out there)

Typos

Wow, that's a stunning photo! I took these pics at our village pond yesterday. The cygnets are almost fully grown, now.

Temperature has noticeably dropped here too. wearing 3/4 jeans and tshirt for the first time in months here. It was cool setting off to walk down to the pub and started to spit with water… a very peculiar experience apparently it’s called rain 🤷‍♀️

everyone at the pub is clearly in the same
boat of unsure what to wear.

I wore jeans today too, for the first time in months. Went for a beach walk with a friend and spent the entire time putting my cardigan on and taking it off again! We had a nice cup of tea and shared a twix.
We have a pigeon sitting on a (rubbish - they are not builders) nest in our wisteria, so that is very sweet. Unfortunately I did spot the cat up there earlier today so I think she has found it too. She’s not generally very interested in birds so fingers crossed.

Still pretty hot here in the middle of the day (25 today) but noticeably cooler mornings and evenings. I have washed our bedlinen today and am considering getting the duvet back out of storage (have been using just the covers for the last couple of months). Also when I got up and went out into the garden this morning, about 7.30, when I came back inside I shut the door as it was a bit chilly in the kitchen, whereas it has been in the high 20s in there every morning till the last week or so so the door has been left open all the time we’re at home.

@RainbowZebraWarrior Hi, I think it was the kitchen diary one which i bought as a gift. He was very lovely as was many in the queue. Sortof like the best friend youd wish you had. Ive met a few chefs via work. Gordon Ramsey comes across as sleazy with the ladies. Nigella is stunning but not very nice at all/hard!