A care home in Hook near Basingstoke has commemorated the recent easing of lockdown restrictions by planting a time capsule in the home’s garden.

The residents and staff of the Old Raven House care home filled the time capsule with written notes of their thoughts about life during a pandemic, items of PPE and a Covid testing kit, and buried it in the garden underneath a rose bush, a highly scented climbing rose, chosen by the residents.

Burying the time capsule was arranged by the home’s activities lead, Helen Wise, who wanted to organise something meaningful to help staff and residents begin to move on from a tumultuous year.

Sylvia McKenzie, 87, a resident at Old Raven House, said: “Creating the time capsule was a lot of fun, and it was great to get our thoughts down on paper and bury them in the ground!

“I hope that in years to come, someone finds our time capsule and enjoys learning more about the strange and eventful year we have had.”

Basingstoke Gazette: Lee Burnham, Old Raven House's gardener, burying the time capsuleLee Burnham, Old Raven House's gardener, burying the time capsule

Helen said: “Recently, we have spent a lot of time reflecting on the past year with our staff and residents and planting a time capsule seemed like the perfect activity for everyone to get involved in.

“We found that writing our thoughts down on paper was very therapeutic and we really hope that someone finds the capsule and learns all about our first-hand experiences of the pandemic.”