A present to the future at Idlewells

Sutton schoolchildren are contributing to a project which will help them appreciate the passage of time in their own young lives
By The Newsroom
Published 10th Aug 2014, 15:00 BST

To commemorate The First World War Idlewells Shopping Centre has put together a memorial time capsule featuring drawings, photographs, poems and completed ration book-style questionnaires – to hide away for four years in the Idlewells central clock.

On 4th August, both young and old took part in a workshop aimed at encouraging reflection of the past - with drawings and poems - and recording a sense of the present with questions like “list three luxuries,” “tell us three prominent people of today”.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

It is hoped that this will make interesting reading on 4th August 2018, when the time capsule is finally opened up again.

Sara Monsooon of the Idlewell’s centre said: “We have the contact details of all the young people involved and they will be coming back when we open it four years on.

“They wil get a sense of how long the war lasted.

“At their age they will probably barely remember putting it together and they will realise just how long the soldiers were away from their families.”

Photographs of the Centre’s giant memorial poppy field canvases - and many of those who made their mark on them - will also be hidden away for four years above the Massarella’s café, with a display of the contents planned for 2018.