A Beautiful Way To Live

Novelist Cressida Lindsay and Commune Movement pioneer Sarah Eno feature in this Anglia TV documentary about life in a commune.

In 1971, Anglia Television visits two communes that are prospering in Norfolk. The first, is a gathering of artists who live at a former school – the Crow Hall Commune in Downham Market. The second commune visited at The Old Rectory Farm, Scoulton, near Watton where artist and novelist Cressida Lindsay lives with her five children and fellow artists.

This documentary explores why people choose to live in these so-called alternative communities. Is it the desire to escape from the pressures and materialistic nature of twentieth century life? Is it just romantic idealism. Are there any problems with living in large groups? Both communes are part of the Commune Movement established in 1965. In 1971, the Movement is run from a vegetarian restaurant, Arjuna, in Cambridge. Anglia TV interviews Sarah Eno, the Movement’s first secretary. Sarah Eno was at the time married to ambient music pioneer Brian Eno.