BY AILEEN MURPHY
Readers living in the Clones Erne East area could hardly but notice some striking stone chairs which have been popping up in villages in the area.
And, not only do the hand-crafted ornaments make an eye-catching sight, they also contain some very special memories from children of the area.
The project is being organised by the cross-border group, the Clones Erne East Partnership (CEEP). Some 30 schools in the district have been involved in creating 'time capsules' which have been placed inside the chairs. All the memories are recorded on a computer memory stick and hold, among other items, essays by the children entitled, 'A Day in My Life, 2007'.
In addition to the children's stories, local people are also invited to contribute items such as photographs, news articles, books about the area, and other documents of interest, provided they can be scanned onto a memory stick.
Already, nine out of the 27 chairs have been placed, in areas such as Maguiresbridge, Brookeborough, Donagh, Roslea, and the Knocks, with the remaining chairs due to be placed in the coming weeks.
The culmination of the project will come on Thursday 21 June at Carnmore/Carn Rock.
The double significance of this is that this is the highest point in the area on the longest day of the year. An open invitation has been extended to the local community as well as all 30 primary schools and the four secondary schools involved.
The co-ordinates of each of the 27 time capsules will be registered on the Global Positioning System (GPS), a widely used satellite navigation system. Visitors will then be able to follow the 'CEEP Chair Trail'.
It is hoped that, when the capsules are opened, the contents will give a snapshot of life in each town and village in the Clones and Erne East area in mid 2007.
It has been suggested the capsules be opened in 50 years time to give our ancestors a unique look at the way we live today.
Since the chairs started appearing in towns in the area, people in the local communities have expressed delight and see them as a symbol of hope for the future for an area which has suffered over the past 40 years.
The initiative is part of, 'The Visual Imagery' project which is designed to brand the area as a, 'nice place to live' and to encourage tourists to visit.
While the main event will take place at Carnrock, it is hoped each community will in turn organise a launch or unveiling of their individual chair.
