Blog

Going back to basics

Wed 1 Sep 2010

Along with many others, my world is heavily reliant on technology - for work, for social networking, for all of my creature comforts. Life is also jam-packed - ironically it's only when I go running that I feel at a standstill!

So it was a breath of fresh air to read about the life of the author Hope Bourne (thank you to Tim Kevan for posting the link on Facebook). She lived a simple life in Exmoor, near my childhood home - much of it outdoors and in isolation.

At times her life was clearly harsh. As the obituary in The Telegraph says, 'untamed nature was not just something she desired, it was also a means of testing human resilience and ingenuity'. Her mother died when she was in her thirties, and their house had to be sold to pay off debts. Hope was left with no home, little money and no income, and no qualifications. She decided to become as self-sufficient as possible, in the area of England that she loved.

She hand wrote (in pencil) her manuscripts and a weekly column for the West Somerset Free Press, and walked three and a half miles to post each article. Archaic? Maybe. But I find it quite refreshing - although I'm not sure my clients would!

She was undoubtedly a very tough cookie - a lady who loved life, loved the land on which she lived, and was extremely self-disciplined and resourceful. What an amazing woman.

You can read the full article at http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/obituaries/culture-obituaries/books-obituaries/7968464/Hope-Bourne.html

Have a good week,

Tracey