The picture of the 'Wants' and 'Needs' factory in the lecture notes on 5th October 2010 reminded me of Hope Bourne who died recently aged 91. Hope was known as the 'Lady of Exmoor' who eschewed the materialistic lifestyle in favour of voluntary simplicity at a time when the term had probably not even been thought up.
I first heard of Hope when somebody gave me her book 'Wild Harvest' back in the 1970s. It was at or about the same time as I read Rachel Carson's polemical 'Silent Spring' (which I re-read recently and can highly recommend).
Hope lived on Exmoor in a caravan for almost 60 years and once said that the five necessities in life were "clean water, food, a roof over your head, a fire and protective clothing'. She literally lived off the land, shooting rabbits and other game and growing vegetables. She lived on £1 a week and even then managed to save half of that! When asked about people who lived in towns she said that they "all looked so miserable".
All the broadsheets carried her obituary in August this year and she readily comes up on an internet search on her name.
She lead a fascinating life.
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