What’s your Spirit of Lockdown?

Share your story to inspire a better, more connected future

The stories we tell now about our response to Covid-19 will shape how we look back on this time, and how we move forward as a society.

What are the truths that will inspire our better days?
What’s the spirit you want to bottle to guide your way forward?

Share your story of lockdown and join a community of story sharers across the country in celebrating the power of relationships and inspiring a conversation about how we can build back better, stronger and more connected.

Share a written story

Share a multimedia story

Explore others’ stories

Whether you’re looking for inspiration to write your own story or simply to understand people’s experiences during the lockdown, dive into our latest submissions.

Making it real: Councils and communities working together

In brief Continuing with the work on Developing the Framework for councils to support community action, David Robinson and Tony Clements invite you to share examples of changing council practices that 'let people in' and join the conversation about how councils can...

Active Neighbours – Dhanmeet

“As a charity on your own, you can’t cover everything. So what has been good with a lot of the response in terms of the pandemic has been the fact that charities and faith-based groups and other groups have got together rather than saying, ‘Oh we wanna do it all.’”

Welcoming The Relationships Collective

Introducing The Relationships Collective The Relationships Collective is a group of 9 individuals who together represent just some of the brilliant, enthusiastic, creative and diverse people who are putting relationships first and pioneering a relationship-centred...

Ten Top Tips for working with new governments

In brief In a breakout session at the Changing our Permissions event on July 12th we discussed working with the new government. We heard from Rob Mc Cabe about his experience of working on changing systems with the Birmingham Pathfinder team and others contributed...

Lookout Sighting #3: Well connected or connecting well?

The Lookout is a space for understanding how life has changed for young people during Covid. During recent Lookout discussions, the double-edged nature of digital connection has come up frequently. In this Sighting, we explore the complex effect of digital technology...

In praise of small everyday relationships

In brief In this Joining the Dots contribution, Steve Wyler discusses the concept of conviviality and the importance of shared spaces where small everyday relationships can flourish. Steve is an independent consultant, researcher, and writer in the social sector....

Relationships are Everything

In brief Enrol Yourself takes a relationship-centred approach to lifelong learning, connecting adults into peer groups that help each individual multiply their learning over 6 months. Enrol Yourself train 'Hosts' who lead these peer groups. We're featuring a mini blog...

Relationships Learning Network Update

In brief In this blog, Neil Denton gives an update on the Relationships Learning Network which gathered for the first time in September 2023. Neil outlines some common areas of interest and interdisciplinary interest and invites you to join us in strengthening links...

The Relationship Collective: A proposal

Before now... In the summer of 2020 I set out on an open-ended research journey exploring why relationships matter and whether people who put relationships at the heart of their work feel connected to others doing the same. I was lucky to collaborate with The...

Lookout Sighting #1: School, stress and a summer of catch-up

Over the past 18 months, we’ve been hearing about adults’ experiences of lockdown through The Relationships Observatory. Now, in partnership with Summer of Play, we’re hearing from children and young people about how the past year and a half has been for them, and...

Everyone is welcome

You don’t need to be an experienced storyteller to take part. Don’t worry about spelling, grammar or being the next JK Rowling – we want to hear about your experience of lockdown in your voice and in whichever format works best for you.

You might want to write your story, to video it, audio record it, draw it, tell it alone, tell it in pairs. Choose the format that works best for you and get sharing!

share a written story

share a multimedia story

Populating the map

We’re building an interactive map to showcase and celebrate stories of lockdown from across the UK. In early 2021 we’ll be inviting storytellers and local decision makers to come together to draw out lessons and shape a better, more connected society post-Covid.

You are under no obligation whatsoever to consent to your story being shared publicly – it’s entirely up to you to decide whether you’d like to share it or keep it private. Whichever format you decide to share your story – written or multimedia – please take a moment to let us know whether you’re happy for your story to be shared.