The Nigel Slater Christmas Chronicles Readalong 2026

[RainbowZebraWarrior]

Hello all, it's that time of year again!

For anyone who has not already had the pleasure, the annual Nigel Slater Christmas Chronicles read along is a real time annual MN tradition.

The Christmas Chronicles (Notes, stories and 100 essential recipes for midwinter) is a diary form book which begins on 1st November, however there are 25 pages of Introduction. That's why I start the thread now; to allow time to prepare and get ready to start together proper come 1st November after the Introduction has been done.

Regulars to the thread already have the book. For anyone new, it's a challenge to see of you can pick up a bargain. Vinted has come up trumps in the past, as has ebay. A rare and precious charity shop find is always a bonus. Don't forget, you can also listen along to Nigel's dulcet tones via Audible.

I shall post daily (where there is an entry) and we can share our thoughts and feelings on the days recipes, sentiments and indeed Dear Nigel himself. Observations of nature and annecdotes of the seasons are also welcomed along with general genial chit chat!

So a hearty welcome to old friends and new, and don't forget that reading by candle light is particularly enjoyable. Cire Trudon may be one of Nige's candles of choice, but it's rather pricey. We don't discriminate against other less expensive brands - even if they are NVN (Not Very Nigel)

Pull up a chair, light a candle, grab a cosy blanket and join in!

Those candles look great! My eyesight isn’t good enough to read by candlelight, but I’d happily light one for fragrance.

Great thread. I've lurked for a couple of years. Looking forward to this.

I didn’t know about this book and it looks exactly the sort of thing I like. Have just ordered a second hand copy from World of Books for myself and a new copy to give to a friend for Christmas. Looking forward very much to reading along. Thanks so much for the thread, this has made my day!

I didn’t get the book on eBay, someone rudely outbid me! I’m going to do a charity shop crawl tomorrow and see if I get lucky.

Thank you @RainbowZebraWarrior for this - I suddenly realised this morning that it's almost that time and I will read the intro at the end of the week.

@hattie43 I am very jealous of your home fragrance calendar. It looks so lovely! I have Liberty and White Company, but I'm considering stopping the Beauty Drop to save for next year's Harrods HFAC instead.

Good luck @Castlerigg

Hope you find a pristine copy at a bargain price!

Joining in please! One of my favourite threads of the year. This and the Christmas fridge thread 😂

We have recently moved house so it's glorious chaos here surrounded by boxes but we are very happy!

In one of the boxes is Christmas chronicles I just need to find it.

I had a little dream come true with this house move we now have a snug with a fire, one of my little dreams I'm so grateful 🥰 perfect for cosying up with Christmas chronicles if we ignore the leaking roof and leaking albeit beautiful single glazed, original stained glass windows.

I can't remember the exact quote but one of my favourite lines in the book is about some fruit in brandy I think, if anyone can take a pic of the page while I'm looking for my book that would be lovely, it goes something like "each one pissed as a newt" 😂

Alas I don't have Nigel's budget but I feel part of the essence of the book is in simple pleasures and that's me right down to a tee.

What Nigel did for me:

I moved to this house 10 years ago but it wasn't until 2023 that I realised the funny fruit on the scrappy bush on the side of the house were ornamental quince. I brought them in and found out they have a lovely perfume.

Thanks Nige. 😘

It's his Apricot Brandy / liqueur.

https://edibletcetera.com/2017/12/24/recipe-nigel-slaters-apricot-orange-anise-liqueur-and-drunken-apricots/

Happy new house!

Have had this lovely book for a few years now but never finish it and always seem to lose the thread. This year I am determined to try and stick to it! Made the bean and sausage dish one year which I liked but dc turned their noses up at! But it’s such a cosy introduction to winter and I think we all need it after the stormy start to autumn!

Literally this is me too. Loving the idea of it. I'm one of those people that loves this time of year. Gingerbread candles from Home Bargains, autumn coloured flowers in vases, a puzzle and podcast on an evening. I'm definitely in.

Do you know what? I think that's why I enjoy hosting the thread. It makes me stick with it, and I am always happy I do. I would possibly forget entirely otherwise.

After I finished the intro on Audible yesterday, I was hungry for similar content. I remembered I had downloaded Val McDermid's winter and can highly recommend it. Her descriptions of winter are very similar to Nigel's in many ways. I've now made a list of similar audiobooks as I intend to indulge for 30 mins a day whilst in the kitchen prepping dinner.

Although it isn't even quite November yet, it feels like winter here, now. After tonight, the nights are going to be in the low single figures, so I best get the logs piled up. Last night was a clear, starry sky with the big full Hunter's moon. Lovely stuff!

I have also made more candles this morning, as I finished off a kitchen roll and tin foil, so some experimenting has been occurring.

Looking forward to enjoying this half term with DD, but also looking forward to getting stuck into CC come Sunday.

@RainbowZebraWarriorthat sounds perfect! I’ll go and look out for the Val McDermid book too!!

Thanks for the Val McDermid book recommendation.

Actually, I have a book about Christmas that I must dig out. It's extracts from books with Christmassy scenes. I always seem to come across it at the wrong time of year.

Oh dear! I’ve been hanging around the Nigel Slater Discussion thread waiting for the book to start….!
Hello all and thanks to @RainbowZebraWarrior for starting this thread!
Planning on taking my CC away with us to Suffolk for our “Dog” holiday. Lots of forest walks and pub lunches, weather looks ok too 🤞🏻
Happy reading everyone 🎄

I’m in, I started last year and was really enjoying it but the threat of redundancy a few weeks before Christmas took the shine off things and I stopped reading. Anyway, I survived the cull, so candles at the ready (they’re ready anyway as we get lots of power cuts) and I’ll dig the book out later.

Place marking.

I got so fed up of the general site that I eventually deleted my account to stop me getting embroiled, so I have not posted for well over a year, or it could be two. I have however participated in these discussions in the past and certainly last year, just watched from afar, so to speak.

Looking forward to join back in this year.

I have this lovely book that my SIL gave me years ago. I read one entry each day of December. https://www.google.com/goto?url=CAESgAEB6zswFdtUUuR5D1N9894S8VggPxTVSolW73werCFIpeX3aYGvrVpJC1Z20BEk7OYUyL9zmH3kahBOrcUIVH6MzZwvrXi0UrzMvzPjfu6NiLRVZdRTBqmFYkw6pNf7JR-t8XEfrDll-gcvCpzjzjZvhjtBNn8kkUUGOKK0Bye01Q

I went mad over calendars this year , I made the mistake of following the beauty advent calendar thread down a rabbit hole .
I bought the Liberty , the Penhaligons , Molton Brown and a couple of cheaper ones . The Harrods HF knocks them out the park so for anyone thinking of it , just do it next year . It includes a Trudon candle so I’m sure Nigel would approve .

Lovely to see you. Pleased you survived the cull last year!

@hattie43 I follow the S&B advent thread every year, but have to take a step back as I have ADHD and am too impulsive so I had three by the end of August (then they sit there unopened!!) That absolutely would not happen with a HHF though, so that is my priority for sure next year. This year I have JL, Glossybox and Anthropologie. I am mostly lured by discounts or having credit / gift vouchers. The thing is, I haven't really worn make up since the pandemic but do love skincare and fragrance. It definitely makes sense getting the Home Fragrance going forward.

Anyway, lovely to see some old 'faces' and some new ones too. Also loving the new Nigel Adjacent book suggestions. I forgot I started collecting books about winter at the beginning of the year, and made a separate shelf for them on my new bookcase. I also have a dedicated Christmas Cook Book Shelf. I'm off to re familiarise myself with what I actually collected winter-wise!

I haven’t read the val mcdermid winter one, but it’s part of a series about the seasons. I read the Autumn one by Kate mosse recently and as a Sussex dweller I particularly loved it. There’s also a spring one written by Michael Morpurgo that I might get next year.

Tried and failed to keep up with the thread last year, not optimistic about my chances this year either (coming off the back of a hellish few months and with my eldest doing his first igcse exams next week, I suspect it’s going to be hectic!) but I shall try as it’s a lovely cosy place to be.

Speaking of Val McDermid's Winter book, I've just been quite shocked to hear her talk in said book of an old family pal. Alan Hull of Lindisfarne was a friend of my Dad's. They had been putting the world to rights as usual one dark Friday night in November at their favourite pub in North Shields and Hully said he was going to nip home for some dinner then come straight back. He never came back, and my Dad assumed he had fallen asleep. He had in fact died that night after collapsing at home. He was only 50.

Alan wrote the most gorgeous song called Winter Song. Sam Fender covered it a few years ago, and it makes me feel rather emotional every time I listen to it. It's more like a poem than a song and very poignant. As it is such a beautiful, well, winter song, I would like to share Sam's version which was recorded at our stunning Sage, which sits on the banks of the river Tyne.

Eeh man. Proper sentimental auld buggers, us geordies

m.youtube.com/watch?v=lBycsPt2Ous

Speaking of winter books I love winter solstice by Rosamund Pilcher , it’s such a cosy read .

KLAXON!!!

There's a copy of the Christmas Chronicles just been listed on Vinted for £6 for anyone who still needs one!!

Darn it. Its sold. Hope it was one of you who got it!