Hello Everyone. After eight years of total neglect it seems that the old html dino is still intact... and working! A big surprise, seeing that some of my more recent sites, using php went down four times last year. (...is technology really improving?). Well, I thought it might be time to delete the whole site (I am in the process of creating something new for freedom-in-education.co.uk). However, there were some pretty bold ideas put forward on the website. Ideas which were easy to have, but perhaps a little harder to follow up. Anyone who ever followed the site, must be wondering, 'Yes, but what are they doing now?'. A very pertinent question, in my opinion, which deserves to be answered.

That's why I've decided to hold back the bulldozers and give the site a few more months on air. The jamboree was run by me and my two sisters, who were home-educated by our parents. We will try our best to give you a short synopsis of how our lives have developed in the intervening years.

Yours sincerely, Samuel Lewis
samuel [@] thecbj.com

Wendy Lewis

It’s been 10 years since I last added anything to this website, so here’s a quick update. I’m now 30 years old, married, living in North London, studying Indian Classical music and working part time as a freelance video editor and events organiser (www.celebrate-life.co.uk <http://www.celebrate-life.co.uk/>).

I have a pretty free lifestyle and I’ve still never had a ‘proper’ 9-5 job (and don’t know whether to be proud or guilty of that fact).

Despite growing up in a rural environment I’ve been enjoying London immensely, much more than I could have possibly imagined.
It has to be one of the most culturally diverse cities in the world and thanks to the events group that I’m a part of, I’ve been able to connect with these cultures, hear the music, taste the food, learn the histories and meet some incredible human beings.
The stories which have brought these people to London are deeply shocking and tragic, but the strength of character and inner dignity which has seen them overcome the trauma is truly inspiring. They’re actually not dissimilar to some of the ‘Stories from History’ you’ll see on this site!
My plan is to make a documentary-film intertwining the stories of some of these people with their music, which expresses everything they’ve been through in raw emotion and feeling. I’m still in the process of gathering a team of creatives to put this plan into action, so if you happen to be once such person, please get in touch!

Other than that I have plenty of interesting events and collaborations in the pipeline with my ‘Celebrate Life Events’ team as well as separate plans for my own music. Seven years of training in North Indian Classical Vocal has given me a foundation in this genre which I want to build on in many ways. Once again, London is a wonderful place to explore this and I’ve been very lucky to have stumbled across a thriving community of musicians from all over the planet who all play with each other and help each other out.

So that’s basically where I’m at now. Regarding education, my own upbringing has clearly shaped who I am now and as time passes I can look back with more clarity. I’m quite happy that it’s not a topic of interest any more (in terms of people I meet) but I’m sure if I have children it will become relevant again.
I’ll cross that bridge when I get to it…
Overall I can genuinely say I’m very happy and feel very fortunate that things in my life have taken such a gracious course, mostly without any of my own doing. I’m not saying there haven’t been challenges, or that there aren’t challenges now, but ups and downs are an inevitable part of life, and as a wise man once said ‘if the sum of the good outweighs the sum of the bad, then it’s all good’ and by that standard it’s all very good indeed.

Below are some links, if you’re interested, to see what I’m up to now.

The events group:
www.celebrate-life.co.uk <http://www.celebrate-life.co.uk/>
https://www.facebook.com/CelebrateLifeEvents
twitter: @CelebLM

Samuel Lewis

I thought I should write something just in case there was anyone looking at the site, and thinking, 'this is all very well, but how did it all turn out?'

Good question. here's a short re-cap.

I never went to school. My family moved to france when I was 7, and I was home educated. We were living in the countryside, so I got to be outside most of time, which suited me.

Me and my sisters started the Jamborre website about 15 or so years ago, to share our experiences with the wider world. It was the glory days of the internet, and the site got quite a bit of response.

So what happened next? Well, I decided not to pursue any form of higher education. I think I had probably got too much of a taste for liberty, and anyway, I had things to do - how could I quit it all?

The one exam I had to undergo (and the only one, thank god!) was for my driving licence. Quite honestly, I found the whole experience degrading and pointless. If the adults of the world cannot trust the next generation, then how can they ever hope to win our trust? Quite frankly, they can't and they won't and they don't deserve to..

I am now working with my parents, and trying to spend as much time as I can outdoors, on our smallholding. I still feel strangely divorced from the Natural World. I think that life in the West has probably become too comfortable. Everything is in place to keep the harshness of Nature out, but personally, I love to have that feeling of being on the edge, at the mercy of the elements.

Am I positive for the future?

Yes, I am, but I really can't see where it's all heading. It looks to me that our selfishness, and individual way of thinking could lead to the breakdown of everything. Someone suggested to me that in the extremest danger, people might come to their senses - but do we really have to leave it to the last minute?

I would love to reform the world, and lead a new era of justice and respect, where we could (once again) live in harmony with each other and the world around us. but on a practical note, I don't think I'll be able to, so I'll aim for it on a personal level instead.

cheers

samuel

Bethan Lewis

I have wanted to write this update to the Jamboree for a while; Samuel told me that he’d reserved a space for me, and I’ve been thinking about it on and off ever since.

The fact is, that I’m in a bit of a quandary. I would like to say that “home education worked great for me; I’ve since been to university, got fantastic grades, made lots of friends, launched myself on an amazing career, and started a family”.

However, I do have a little niggling doubt about university, and I can’t help thinking that in today’s world, the point of life isn’t finding a partner and having children – in fact it may not even be possible.

Because of these little doubts, the reality is that I’ve not done much at all – looking back over the past few years, I seem to have spent most of my time moping. I’m in the funny position of wanting to do the same thing as everybody else, but also thinking that it looks pretty ghastly.

So what do I want to do? Although part of me is very lazy, and would like to spend all day lying on my back on the lawn, and reading books and magazines, I do actually want to be a hero.

I want to be the character in the story who fights for right and stands up for what they believe in. I want to be the Robin Hood who takes from the rich and gives to the poor, or the good fairy who sets all the little children free, and makes them smile again.

It’s time it started happening, and if anyone else is interested out there, I’d love to hear from them.

Bethan Lewis