WHAT have you been doing since the country went into lockdown on March 23?

That is the question being asked by Chard Museum, who are looking to collate the area’s more interesting tales from behind closed doors and stories of social distancing.

Howard Bailey, a spokesman for the museum, said: “The Covid-19 outbreak is a landmark moment in human history and for us locally in Chard.

“Life is completely different for everyone.

“How we live, work, shop and interact is radically different and we want to ensure that this is reflected in the museum’s archived collections and future displays.”

The museum, like so many others in Chard town centre, has not been able to open its doors during the months of lockdown.

Nonetheless, its many volunteers have remained diligent during the forced closure.

Howard added: “We are keen to capture information about what happened locally to inform future generations, create resource boxes and our future displays and exhibits.”

One of the museum’s hard-working members, Gerrie Bews, has shared one of her memories.

She said: “In the months leading up to VE and VJ Day celebrations, all the ladies at the museum had been knitting red, white, and blue bunting to display outside the museum.

“Alas, alack, Covid-19 and lockdown set in and this all had to be set aside.

“My granddaughter asked me if I could make a rainbow to make it all go away.

“She was four in June and lives in Florida.

“I could not be with her, as planned, so I knitted her a rainbow and sent it to her.

“Another one went to my other grand-daughter aged eight months, who is in St Albans.

“It has been used for baby sensory Zoom sessions.

“In years to come, I hope these little girls will come across these discarded items and remember that there is hope at the end of the rainbow.”

Archives or artefacts the museum is collecting include diaries or reminiscences that may have been made during lockdown, photographs, images or rainbow pictures you may have made, taken or drawn, or unique teaching resources used by parents’ home schooling for the first time.

Howard added: “Additionally, we want to record your experiences in relation to specific themes such as shopping, maybe unusual items used during the weekly clap, or video blogs or video footage or if you’ve written poems or songs or created artwork.”

For more information and to share, visit chardmusuem.co.uk.