Collecting Covid: New East Lothian project seeks to gather artefacts to record what life is like during the pandemic

A new project in East Lothian is aiming to collect and preserve photographs, documents and memories that will aid future generations understand life during Covid.

The John Gray Centre in Haddington, which is run by the local council, houses archives and artefacts recording the county’s history, and is hoping to add a coronavirus section to the collection.

A statement from East Lothian Council said: “We are living through an unprecedented time and although we are all going through it, our individual experiences are unique.

“The ‘Collecting COVID East Lothian’ project will assist the team to understand and record the human dimension of the COVID-19 tragedy and keep a record of this extraordinary period to enable future generations to learn about and understand our pandemic experience.

“We want to collect and preserve your experiences, images and objects that reflect this pandemic in East Lothian and how it has and still is affecting you, whether good or bad.”

The archivists at the centre will not be able to collect anything physically due to lockdown restrictions but are hoping to hear from local residents in the county who are willing to donate items at a later date.

Anybody who is interested should contact [email protected] with Covid-19 Collection in the subject line.

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