What are your thoughts on lockdown? How has it been for you – frustrating, therapeutic, emotional, draining, isolating, lonely, inspiring, energising, revelatory…? Are you now seeing things in a new light? Has anything happened to you be it funny or sad that you want to get off your chest?

Surbiton TV documentary maker Dan Howell, pictured with his rescue dog a bichon frise called Pippin, has launched a project called Little Stories where people can contribute their experiences of life during a pandemic.

“The Little Stories Project was my wife Catherine’s idea,” said Dan who has produced and directed documentaries for BBC2 and Channel 4 among others. “We started it together as a way for people to anonymously share their experiences of living through coronavirus.

“Doing the job I do, I’m lucky enough to travel the country and film in all sorts of different communities, hearing all the weird and wonderful stories our country has to offer. But all we were seeing on TV and online were the same coronavirus news items on an endless cycle.

“We wanted get beyond the news, and get people to share what it’s really like for them at the moment – anonymously and without fear of being judged.

“So, we’ve been asking people to send in their ‘little stories’ – put simply, it’s a sort of diary entry that people have found helpful as a way to get stuff off their chest. We’re hoping it’s something we can all look back on in years to come.”

Dan, who lives off Maple Road, said they’ve had contributions from all over the country so far – from Yorkshire to Cornwall – about everything from dating in lockdown to rediscovering nature and would love to have more from the Surbiton area.

“We’ve read about mad dreams, window-escapes, the mythical pub, potatoes, anxiety, gratitude, money worries, the Blitz and custard confessions. We’ve heard from nurses, new parents, musicians, teachers and secret tree-planters among others.

“It is a collection of honest and moving personal stories about living with coronavirus in the UK. It’s entirely anonymous to post, it’s simple and your story can be as short or as long as you like – it just need to be personal to you.”

To read all the stories so far and post one of your own, all you need to do is visit www.littlestoriesproject.co.uk The project is also on Instagram and Facebook @littlestoriesprojectuk