Over the Summer of 2020 we have been looking back on the past few months of lockdown. It has been a very strange time for all, but one in which the strength of our community has never mattered more. In order to mark this, reflect upon it and record it for future generations of KLS members, we have interviewed some of our members about their experiences during lockdown and what their involvement in KLS has meant to them during this time. All videos are available on our Facebook page but also captured here:
Episode 1 – Rabbi René
In the first episode, Rabbi René talks about his own experiences of suffering from Covid-19.
Episode 2 – Christine Lior Locher
Christine Lior is a brand new member of the Jewish people, having successfully completed her conversion process during lockdown and just before filming this video:
Episode 3 – Sandra Levene
Longstanding KLS member and all-round legend Sandra talks about her life as a member and her experiences during lockdown:
Episode 4 – Norman Hyman
Another longstanding member, Norman, talks about being a member of KLS since the 1970s:
Episode 5 – Jill Hyman
The other half of the Hyman duo, Jill, talks about her life as a KLS member and experiences during lockdown:
Episode 6 – Jane Ward
Jane’s parents were founder members of KLS and she grew up with the community. She no longer lives in the area but retains her membership and here she talks about how special it has been to be able to attend our online services remotely.
Episode 7 – Vince Daly
Vince converted to Judaism about 20 years ago, with KLS. Here he talks about his life as a KLS member and his musical and gastronomical adventures during lockdown.
Episode 8 – Sandra Webber
Longstanding member Sandra presents the beautiful mosaic she made during lockdown as a momento of the strength of the KLS commuity during this time.
Episode 9 – Phil Lyons
Phil and his wife Sandra joined KLS a few years ago after being members of another Shul for many years. Hear him speak about what makes KLS special!
Episode 10 – Joyce
A really special guest for our 10th episode – KLS founder member, Joyce, who speaks about her life as a KLS member since its inception in 1967.
Episode 11 – Debra Wilson
Debra has just started her conversion journey to Judaism with KLS. Born to a Muslim mother and a Catholic father she was raised in Chicago during the civil rights movement of the 1960s. This is a fascinating interview!
Episode 12 – Carolynne Farrer
Carolynne is the Head Teacher of our Saturday morning school for children aged 5-16, Beiteinu, and in this episode she talks about her life in lockdown and how she and the other teachers continued providing a Jewish education to our students school throughout.
Episode 13 – James Sales
James converted to Judaism with KLS two years ago and has been an active member ever since. Hear him talk about his journey towards Judaism and his lockdown experiences here.
Episode 14 – Sam Alston
Sam grew up with KLS and here he talks about his time as a member and what he has been up to during lockdown.
Episode 15 – Louisa Michelson
Louisa became a member of KLS just over 3 years’ ago and tells us about her membership and her experiences in lockdown
Episode 16 – Phil Hyman
Phil grew up with KLS, had his baby blessing and Bar Mitzvah with us.
Episode 17 – Josh Wuggenig
Josh is a ‘pedigree’ KLS member – his grandparents were founder members! Hear him talk about teaching at Beiteinu during lockdown and his plans for the future as he’s off to University this Autumn.
Episode 18 – Bess Joffe
Bess joined KLS about 3 years’ ago. She sits on the KLS Council and her daughter attends Beiteinu.
Episode 19 – Craig Simmons
Craig is the Chair of our community and here he talks about his life as a KLS member and his experiences during lockdown
Episode 20 – Rebecca Singerman-Knight
For the final episode of Our Lockdown Stories we turned the tables on our Press and Publicity Officer, Rebecca, who has been conducting the interviews for this series. In this episode our Chair, Craig, asks Rebecca about her life as a KLS member and her experiences during lockdown.