Let’s all meet up in the year 2109…

800 letters stashed away in University Library.


Eight hundred letters addressed to the people of 2109 have been stashed away in the University Library as part of 800th anniversary celebrations.

The letters, which feature thoughts on climate change, the global recession and "rabbits with floppy ears", were hidden in the depths of the tower on Thursday in the presence of the Queen.

They will remain unopened until 2109.

800 people on either side of the town-gown divide took part, including the heads of both Harvard and Oxford and 329 schoolchildren.

Each author has also been given a certificate to pass down to future generations.

In 2109, anyone in possession of a certificate will be able to take it to the Library and retrieve a message from their ancestor.

Some contributors were as young as six and may live long enough to open their own letters a century from now.

The University intended the project to “leave a wonderful and fascinating legacy to members of the University and the Cambridge community as a whole”.

Contributors did not disappoint; profound thoughts included hopes "that there would still be some polar bears left in a hundred years' time” and groundbreaking insights into reality TV, "people use shows like Big Brother and X Factor as a platform for fame and fortune".