Time Capsule Buried in Amersham to Preserve ‘Real Life’ Thoughts of Elderly Generation
It will commemorate residential life living during the Covid-19 pandemic
A time capsule was buried in the grounds of The Croft Care Home in Amersham this week during a special ceremony to commemorate the last two years of life living in a care home.
The time capsule contains a recent photograph of each of the residents with the reverse displaying their forename, age and their personal thoughts and feelings about ‘time today’ including their reflections about life at The Croft, the Covid Pandemic, the NHS, the current Prime Minister, Boris Johnson, and the Queen.
Staff at the care home, run by national charity Ambient Support, hope that whoever finds the capsule will learn a little about what it is like to live in 2022 as an older person.
Charlotte Gray, Activity Co-Ordinator, brought the idea to fruition. Charlotte, says:
“Many school children bury time capsules at schools but we wanted to capture this ‘time’ from the perspective of older people who are in care homes and leave a different message in the ground- a message that will preserve ‘real-life’ thoughts of the elderly generation living in care homes.”
During this time of reflection, some of the residents have also been giving advice for the younger generation:
Mary: 89 years - “Eat plenty of good grub and have a glass of Guinness a day and you will live forever. I had six kids on the NHS, it is terrific."
Patricia: 89 years - “Sing through your life.”
Emma: 100yrs - “Respect your parents, respect your teachers and use good manners.”
Louise Foyle-York, Manager at The Croft, says:
“I am extremely proud of my team who really went above and beyond to organise this special event– and to enable the people we support to talk openly about their feelings. It was very emotional looking back over the past two years, there were some tears of sadness and joy and we all thoroughly enjoyed the afternoon.”