http://blog.klockworks.co.uk/blog en-us Thu, 04 Mar 2010 08:40:16 +0000 Main Page Blogware Kate Lock http://blog.klockworks.co.uk/blog/_archives/2009/9/14/4321468.html http://blog.klockworks.co.uk/blog/_archives/2009/9/14/4321468.html Mon, 14 Sep 2009 17:09:31 +0100 Thank you to all the readers that have contacted me to say how much they've enjoyed Confessions of an Eco-Shopper. I've had some lovely emails and I'd like to share them here. They all make interesting points and I would like this blog to provide a forum for readers to discuss their own experiences of green living. So here are three (and my correspondence with them) to give you a taster. Keep them coming! Main Page Confessions of an Eco-Shopper Kate Lock http://blog.klockworks.co.uk/blog/_archives/2009/9/9/4315330.html http://blog.klockworks.co.uk/blog/_archives/2009/9/9/4315330.html Wed, 09 Sep 2009 01:02:37 +0100 ‘You’re brave’. It’s been said before – notably when I published my memoir, Dangerous Love, describing a relationship I had with a psychopathic murderer 25 years ago when I was a naïve undergraduate. And yes, that was quite ‘brave’, in the sense that writing it involved some heavy-duty soul-searching and forced me to be pretty revealing about myself. So I don’t view talking about sanitary protection as quite so daring . . . Main Page Confessions of an Eco-Shopper Kate Lock http://blog.klockworks.co.uk/blog/_archives/2009/8/31/4305343.html http://blog.klockworks.co.uk/blog/_archives/2009/8/31/4305343.html Mon, 31 Aug 2009 00:10:12 +0100 This is the title of the workshop I'm running at the York Green Festival in Rowntree Park on Sunday 6 September. I've chosen the subject because those chapters of my book (Confessions of an Eco-Shopper: the true story of one woman's mission to go green) are the ones that seem to have struck the deepest chord with readers, many of whom have emailed me on the subject. Main Page Confessions of an Eco-Shopper Kate Lock http://blog.klockworks.co.uk/blog/_archives/2009/8/21/4295997.html http://blog.klockworks.co.uk/blog/_archives/2009/8/21/4295997.html Fri, 21 Aug 2009 22:56:20 +0100 It's New School Uniform time again and I'm clearly freakish in trying to find school trousers for my rapidly growing 12-year-old daughter that aren't coated in stain-repellents, waterproofing and fabric protectors, i.e., Dupont's Teflon or some other trade-marked form of fluropolymers. Main Page Confessions of an Eco-Shopper Kate Lock http://blog.klockworks.co.uk/blog/_archives/2009/6/26/4235464.html http://blog.klockworks.co.uk/blog/_archives/2009/6/26/4235464.html Fri, 26 Jun 2009 13:27:55 +0100 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) Main Page Confessions of an Eco-Shopper Kate Lock http://blog.klockworks.co.uk/blog/_archives/2009/2/14/4092760.html http://blog.klockworks.co.uk/blog/_archives/2009/2/14/4092760.html Sat, 14 Feb 2009 16:39:13 +0000 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. Main Page One Girl and her 'Bone Kate Lock http://blog.klockworks.co.uk/blog/_archives/2009/2/6/4082951.html http://blog.klockworks.co.uk/blog/_archives/2009/2/6/4082951.html Fri, 06 Feb 2009 02:31:57 +0000 ‘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?’ Main Page One Girl and her 'Bone Kate Lock http://blog.klockworks.co.uk/blog/_archives/2009/1/25/4068817.html http://blog.klockworks.co.uk/blog/_archives/2009/1/25/4068817.html Sun, 25 Jan 2009 01:18:04 +0000 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. Main Page Confessions of an Eco-Shopper Kate Lock http://blog.klockworks.co.uk/blog/_archives/2009/1/22/4066087.html http://blog.klockworks.co.uk/blog/_archives/2009/1/22/4066087.html Thu, 22 Jan 2009 10:18:14 +0000 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. Main Page One Girl and her 'Bone Kate Lock http://blog.klockworks.co.uk/blog/_archives/2009/1/6/4047328.html http://blog.klockworks.co.uk/blog/_archives/2009/1/6/4047328.html Wed, 07 Jan 2009 23:52:37 +0000 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? Main Page Confessions of an Eco-Shopper Kate Lock http://blog.klockworks.co.uk/blog/_archives/2009/1/7/4048579.html http://blog.klockworks.co.uk/blog/_archives/2009/1/7/4048579.html Wed, 07 Jan 2009 01:05:35 +0000 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. Main Page Diary of an allotment virgin Kate Lock http://blog.klockworks.co.uk/blog/_archives/2009/1/1/4042415.html http://blog.klockworks.co.uk/blog/_archives/2009/1/1/4042415.html Thu, 01 Jan 2009 20:30:09 +0000 '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!' Main Page Diary of an allotment virgin Kate Lock http://blog.klockworks.co.uk/blog/_archives/2008/12/26/4035361.html http://blog.klockworks.co.uk/blog/_archives/2008/12/26/4035361.html Fri, 26 Dec 2008 00:04:03 +0000 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. Main Page Confessions of an Eco-Shopper Kate Lock http://blog.klockworks.co.uk/blog/_archives/2008/9/18/3890272.html http://blog.klockworks.co.uk/blog/_archives/2008/9/18/3890272.html Thu, 18 Sep 2008 15:06:22 +0100 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. Main Page Confessions of an Eco-Shopper Kate Lock http://blog.klockworks.co.uk/blog/_archives/2008/9/18/3890260.html http://blog.klockworks.co.uk/blog/_archives/2008/9/18/3890260.html Thu, 18 Sep 2008 14:53:29 +0100 Is the credit crunch forcing you to think twice about buying expensive moisturisers? Have concerns about toxins in beauty products prompted you to consider more natural alternatives? Do you want to source toiletries that are not only effective but also sustainably produced? Well - I had those concerns too. But now I've found the solution. Make them yourself. Main Page Confessions of an Eco-Shopper Kate Lock http://blog.klockworks.co.uk/blog/_archives/2008/9/18/3890125.html http://blog.klockworks.co.uk/blog/_archives/2008/9/18/3890125.html Thu, 18 Sep 2008 12:51:45 +0100 If you would like to listen to my teleclass with Clare Josa of Vegebox Recipes please click on this link ... Main Page Confessions of an Eco-Shopper Kate Lock http://blog.klockworks.co.uk/blog/_archives/2008/9/7/3872300.html http://blog.klockworks.co.uk/blog/_archives/2008/9/7/3872300.html Sun, 07 Sep 2008 01:43:00 +0100 Further to the post below, I'll be doing a live call with Clare Josa of the wonderful website Vegbox Recipes later today (Sunday 7 September) at 2pm, in which I'll talk about the research I did on food shopping - and much more! Main Page Confessions of an Eco-Shopper Kate Lock http://blog.klockworks.co.uk/blog/_archives/2008/9/7/3872286.html http://blog.klockworks.co.uk/blog/_archives/2008/9/7/3872286.html Sun, 07 Sep 2008 01:20:01 +0100 Organic vegeboxes can work out cheaper than buying non-organic vegetables from the major supermarkets and up to 65 per cent cheaper than supermarket organic produce. In a snapshot survey I did last week (period of 28 August – 1 September 2008) comparing the cost of a large organic vegebox with the same items bought from two supermarkets (from both organic and non-organic ranges), a greengrocer’s shop and a city-centre market, the organic vegebox was only beaten on price by the market stall, where a basket of comparable non-organic vegetables was seven per cent cheaper. Main Page Confessions of an Eco-Shopper Kate Lock http://blog.klockworks.co.uk/blog/_archives/2008/8/13/3835700.html http://blog.klockworks.co.uk/blog/_archives/2008/8/13/3835700.html Wed, 13 Aug 2008 00:19:00 +0100 Great turn-out for the launch at Borders in Daveygate, York, last Thursday - and I found a novel way to capture the punters' attention: raffle a wormery! Main Page Confessions of an Eco-Shopper Kate Lock http://blog.klockworks.co.uk/blog/_archives/2008/8/12/3835629.html http://blog.klockworks.co.uk/blog/_archives/2008/8/12/3835629.html Tue, 12 Aug 2008 23:28:26 +0100 I had a busy few days pre- and post- book launch, with lots of publicity for Confessions of an Eco-Shopper on the radio and in the press. Main Page Confessions of an Eco-Shopper Kate Lock http://blog.klockworks.co.uk/blog/_archives/2008/8/6/3826147.html http://blog.klockworks.co.uk/blog/_archives/2008/8/6/3826147.html Wed, 06 Aug 2008 00:36:14 +0100 Carbon footprints - gee whiz, what complicated things they are to calculate. Any formula that requires me to physically locate the 'leccy bill (it was somewhere in that pile on the sideboard, I think ...), let alone start doing maths with it, tends to put me off straight away. Main Page Confessions of an Eco-Shopper Kate Lock http://blog.klockworks.co.uk/blog/_archives/2008/8/5/3825190.html http://blog.klockworks.co.uk/blog/_archives/2008/8/5/3825190.html Tue, 05 Aug 2008 12:15:41 +0100 Stop press . . . Confessions of an Eco-Shopper has already had a couple of great reviews ahead of publication day tomorrow (7 August). Not only that, but it's currently the No. 1 shopping guide on Amazon! Main Page Confessions of an Eco-Shopper Kate Lock http://blog.klockworks.co.uk/blog/_archives/2008/8/4/3824077.html http://blog.klockworks.co.uk/blog/_archives/2008/8/4/3824077.html Mon, 04 Aug 2008 17:26:02 +0100 Confessions of an Eco-Shopper was featured in a double-page spread in the Daily Mail today (Lifestyle, pp48-49). Under the headline, ‘Dying to be beautiful’, the standfirst asks: ‘Are your beauty products killing you? In a new book, Kate Lock reveals what’s really in the bottles’. Main Page Confessions of an Eco-Shopper Kate Lock http://blog.klockworks.co.uk/blog/_archives/2008/8/4/3824023.html http://blog.klockworks.co.uk/blog/_archives/2008/8/4/3824023.html Mon, 04 Aug 2008 16:32:27 +0100 I was Udderly bereft to discover, belatedly - so belatedly, indeed, that I was not able to correct the proofs for Eco-Shopper in time - that the Udderly SMOOth udder cream that I tested DOES contain parabens. Main Page Confessions of an Eco-Shopper Kate Lock http://blog.klockworks.co.uk/blog/_archives/2008/8/3/3823107.html http://blog.klockworks.co.uk/blog/_archives/2008/8/3/3823107.html Sun, 03 Aug 2008 22:53:07 +0100 I didn’t taste-test organic or free-range chicken in my book, though I did with some other foods. However, from my own experience I’ve always found birds bred with higher welfare standards have a nicer flavour. But is that just because I want it to? Main Page Confessions of an Eco-Shopper Kate Lock http://blog.klockworks.co.uk/blog/_archives/2008/8/3/3823104.html http://blog.klockworks.co.uk/blog/_archives/2008/8/3/3823104.html Sun, 03 Aug 2008 22:51:09 +0100 Apologies to blog readers too young to remember Middle of the Road’s incredibly annoying 1971 no 1 hit, Chirpy Chirpy Cheep Cheep, but it’s kind of appropriate here . . . though I wonder who’s feeling more chirpy about the future of cheap chicken now? I’ve mentioned Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall’s campaign against intensively farmed chicken in Confessions of an Eco-Shopper in Aisle 2, Challenge 6 (‘Ready meals v proper dinners’), which started with his Channel 4 programme, Hugh’s Chicken Run. Main Page Confessions of an Eco-Shopper Kate Lock http://blog.klockworks.co.uk/blog/_archives/2008/6/27/3767120.html http://blog.klockworks.co.uk/blog/_archives/2008/6/27/3767120.html Fri, 27 Jun 2008 02:43:37 +0100 In Confessions of an Eco-Shopper I devote a whole chapter – or ‘Aisle’ as they’re called in the book (it’s structured like a trip around a supermarket) to clothing challenges, including the difficulty of being eco-smart and sartorially stylish on a normal person’s budget. And since a normal person’s budget tends towards Primark jeans at £12 rather than ethical brand Del Forte’s (admittedly lovely) jeans that cost £134, that’s some challenge. Main Page Confessions of an Eco-Shopper Kate Lock http://blog.klockworks.co.uk/blog/_archives/2008/6/25/3765780.html http://blog.klockworks.co.uk/blog/_archives/2008/6/25/3765780.html Wed, 25 Jun 2008 00:49:50 +0100 Making little changes really can make a difference. Here’s an example. The other day I decided to pull our fridge-freezer out of its corner to clean the coils at the back because when they get covered with dust and fluff they become less efficient and it uses more electricity and so creates more carbon, etc. I also decided to defrost it because having a freezer compartment clogged up with ice increases its energy consumption Main Page Confessions of an Eco-Shopper Kate Lock http://blog.klockworks.co.uk/blog/_archives/2008/6/24/3765733.html http://blog.klockworks.co.uk/blog/_archives/2008/6/24/3765733.html Tue, 24 Jun 2008 23:32:40 +0100 I got my last look at the proofs for Eco-Shopper yesterday. A couple of tiny tweaks and that was it, finito. The book’s going to press as I write; no more chances to correct anything or update the content. It’s a relief to finally let go of it, but scary, too. In just over six weeks (7 August, to be exact) it will be out there, no longer my baby but public property. Main Page Confessions of an Eco-Shopper Kate Lock http://blog.klockworks.co.uk/blog/_archives/2008/5/20/3823162.html http://blog.klockworks.co.uk/blog/_archives/2008/5/20/3823162.html Tue, 20 May 2008 23:28:52 +0100 First published on BBC North Yorkshire's website: There is a Doonesbury cartoon that suggests a reason why President George W Bush originally threatened to veto Senator (now Republican candidate) John McCain’s Anti-Torture Amendment back in 2005. It has to do with red-hot coat hangers and frat boys’ buttocks. Main Page Reviews