Introduction

Welcome to Klockworks, a collection of my writings as a journalist and author.

Confessions of an Eco-Shopper is a companion blog to my book, Confessions of an Eco-Shopper: the true story of one woman's mission to go green, published by Hodder. The purpose of the blog is to keep you abreast of any updates to the content of the book, as well as allowing me to comment on current environmental stories. If you'd like to get in touch with me about the book or the blog, email me at kate@ecosmartshopper.co.uk

The Press Column contains my weekly columns for The Press newspaper in York from 2006-2007.

Dangerous Love contains interviews about my true-life/crime memoir published by Ebury in 2005.

Reviews is a collection of various theatre and music reviews that I've done for The Press and BBC North Yorkshire

More information about Dangerous Love and my other published works can be found on the Klockworks Website.

Thanks for visiting. Enjoy!

View Article  Great response to Confessions of an Eco-Shopper!
The new updated and revised paperback edition of Confessions of an Eco-Shopper is now out in shops so this is a good point to relay some of the lovely comments I’ve received from readers that have taken the time and trouble to email me. Thanks to all to them – and please do keep sending me your comments on the book. I endeavour to reply personally and help with any queries if I can. (Kate@klockworks.co.uk)   more »
View Article  My Funny (Trombone) Valentine
I’ll say this for my conversion to ‘trombonist’: it’s given the husband new scope for gift ideas. Did I get some soppy card with love hearts on it this Valentine’s Day? Nope, I got a personalised, homemade card from him featuring Goofy playing the trombone. I won’t comment on the fact that Mickey Mouse’s mate is attempting to use the slide with his left hand (even though he’s got the trombone on his left shoulder). Or the comparison between myself and Goofy. It’s the thought that counts. Except that there’s also a Lego man and a Smurf playing the trombone on it, too. There may be a subliminal message, but I’m not going to go there.   more »
View Article  Frolics for trombone?
‘Mum, what does frolicking mean?’ my 11-year-old daughter asked sleepily when I went in to say goodnight to her, having just rolled in rather later than usual from band practise. ‘Is it like that ‘F’ word people sometimes use instead of the really bad ‘F’ word?’   more »
View Article  Winds of (climate) change?
Even the climate-change deniers may have to stop and think twice now. The British tabloid The Sun threw its hat into the ring this week (20.01.09) with a special ‘SOS Planet Earth’ supplement (‘The Earth – We Love It’). And, as politicians and pop stars alike know, when The Sun takes things seriously (or as seriously as its sub-editors’ puns permit) then its three million or so readers do, too.   more »
View Article  Brass nerve? Taking up the trombone as a late learner
New Year, new start. I’ve been playing the trombone for a couple of years now and, while it still seems presumptuous to call myself a ‘musician’, it has, in a strange way, taken over my life. I certainly didn’t foresee this happening when I took my daughter along for her first cornet lesson, courtesy of a local brass band. I’d taken a book and was looking forward to having a bit of ‘me time’ while she got on with making strangled-cow noises. I did not expect to be blowing my own trumpet (as it were), too.   more »
View Article  A Beginner's Guide to Climate Change
Do people ‘get’ climate change? Regular people, I mean, not pundits and politicos: the folks next door, the family opposite, supermarket shoppers, the old boys down the working men’s club? What about the pensioners in the Post Office, delivery drivers, the chavs by the bus stop? Do they care? The postman, the park-keeper, hospital patients and hairdressers, what do they make of it? As for the butcher, the baker and the (now robustly hippy) candlestick-maker, do they give it a moment’s thought in their daily lives? Do any of us, really?   more »
View Article  Allotment Chutney a winner!
The digging has had to stop, temporarily. The ground is frozen hard and even stoical Steve has given up on extracting couch grass while it's still so cold. In the meantime, he's done some research on wheelbarrows - the hardware shop just down the road does one for around £30, which is not much more than B&Q so we're keeping our custom local - and while we wait for the soil to defrost we are busy consuming the Allotment Chutney.   more »
View Article  From couch potato to couch-grass queen
'Oh, couch grass!' I believe this may be equivalent to swearing among allotment-holders, along with 'Damn, nettles!', 'Ouch, brambles!' and the very rude, and only used in cases of extreme provocation, 'Japanese knotweed!'   more »
View Article  I'm dreaming of a Green Christmas . . .
My mission to go green has given my husband a few headaches over the past few years. We have moved on from arguments about whose turn it is to empty the kitchen caddy into the compost bin (mine, permanently) but he now has a new gripe. Since my green 'conversion' I am impossible to buy presents for.   more »
View Article  What do supermarkets' price cuts really amount to?
My eco-challenge comparing the value of my Goosemoor vegebox with the same items bought from two major supermarkets, a local greengrocer and a city-centre market (see blog entry below) has made The Independent today, thanks to Martin Hickman, the Indie's Consumer Affairs correspondent.   more »