do you believe in the telectroscope?

Research

[I am unclear as to what Paul St George is up to here - is he searching for more tunnels or simply taking a beach holiday?]

Where did the Telectroscope go?

When I first saw a photo of Paul St George taking his leave of this world, and then another the next day of the Telectroscope's 'aura' burned into the boards at the Fulton Ferry Landing, I thought it was a joke:

'Call 911 the Telectroscope has Disappeared!' read the caption. It should have come as no surprise that such a magical device should leave as mysteriously as it arrived. But I did not think it had really disappeared - only that it had returned perhaps to the workshop from whence it came.

Recently though I have been trying to catch up with Paul to confirm or deny the rumours that further tunnels may be opening up soon, with new telectroscopic installations to follow. But where is Paul? I cannot find him.

He was always elusive, I know, preferring to blend into the crowds that gathered around his ancestor's invention.

But I feel sad to think that I have lost him and that the Telectroscope really might have been stolen away, never to be seen again. Better it were lingering in a yard somewhere, or perhaps locked away in a ministry building. God forbid it should be sold for parts on eBay!

Keep your eyes peeled. Let me know if you see anything that might suggest that the Telectroscope survives. I would hate to think that what you are reading now is the end of this extraordinary adventure.

A Blooming of Beautiful Images

How nice to see Paul St George captured at his hour of triumph with a smile on his face. But what does that lever do? Does the Telectroscope have to be 'switched on' in some way?

So many people have been photographing the Telectroscopes at both ends of the Tunnel, that I almost feel as if I have experienced it myself already. And yet that pleasure is still to come:

The images (on Flickr BTW) show how much people are clearly enjoying the experience of silent communication at a distance. I'm very much looking forward to the simple and innocent pleasure of peering down a deep hole and seeing people wave back from the other end - or in some cases dance and hold up signs.

I do believe in the Telectroscope!

Big media too has reacted to this phenomenon BTW (see my bookmarks at http://del.icio.us/telectroscope/news).

Both BBC and the World Service have reports. And I have been asked to stay up late this evening and talk to BBC Radio 5 Live. Tune in if you can keep awake til 1am!

Oh and here's a YouTube video of a U.S. news item:

Experimental Broadband Setup

Stephen Herbert wrote:

"I was amused by The Times' journalist's idea that the Telectroscope would perhaps use the 'modern version of the telegraph, broadband internet cable'. Despite such popular books as The Victorian Internet (Tom Standage 1998), there is still a conception of the internet as 'new'. Somewhere around here I have a picture of an experimental broadband webcam setup, c.1890 - I'll see if I can find it........."

I'm delighted to say that Stephen was as good as his word, and has sent an engraving (see right).  Interesting to see that the Victorians had much the same idea as us about what webcams might be for...

An email and a drawing from Paul

Aha! Paul has already reacted to the blog. I received this email earlier today:

Hi Tim, We met yesterday. I left without paying for the coffees, sorry. I saw the blog you have started and I saw the pages from my sketch book!!!! Here is a better image. You only needed to ask:

I should tell you my great grandfather's name. It is a bit of a mouthful: Alexander Stanhope St George.

The image that I have attached is one of his drawings and shows a section view of the Telectroscope. I have been slowly going through all of his notebooks and boxes and piecing together his plans.

I can see that you do not completely believe me; nor do you completely reject the idea that I might be able to do this. There are many too many drawings and notes to bombard you with, but I hope this drawing dispels any doubt. Let me know if you want any further information.

Paul

There’s quite a lot here to digest here – the drawing, the name, the invitation to ask for more... How should I respond? What is the one piece of evidence that is going to drop me in the hole, convince me that Paul’s scheme is for real?

Paul's notebook, your photos & movies

I took these sneaky snaps of his notebook whilst Paul was in the loo:

Feel free to join the Flickr group for sharing photos - or the YouTube group for sharing videos. I'm keen to know if anyone else out there has encountered Paul or perhaps come across your own tunnel!