· Visit to the stable yards?

The owners of the Grinfield Street part of the site (i.e. the developers who intend to build there) have suggested that an open day at the stable yards may be organised in the autumn. This would give people the opportunity to see the two main tunnel entrances. Whether visitors would be allowed to go into the two tunnels themselves has yet to be decided. We have been invited to take part in the day and will post more details here as they become available. Bear in mind that such a visit would only give sight of a small fraction of the whole labyrinth.

· Annual General Meeting

FWT held its second Annual General Meeting on 18th June in Liverpool. Officers reported on routine matters and there was a lot of open discussion on the future. Two of our friends from the local University demonstrated a prototype of a very impressive multimedia project on the tunnels, with virtual reality and video footage.

We took a mechanical digger to the Paddington Gardens site in April (with the land owners permission!). We were looking specifically for the six tier deep cellars Williamson built under a property that once stood at the corner of the land. After a couple of hours digging, a doorway built with Williamson's tell-tale dressed sandstone blocks was uncovered (pictured left). We kept going down and reached the floor of the room. Given time constraints before having to fill the hole in again, we just had the opportunity to step down to the sandstone floor and noticed it had a definite camber to it. This would be in keeping with an arched roof for the tier underneath. Having to fill in again was a shame, but the day was a big success in that we found that the cellars were still there, ripe for proper excavation in the future.

· Endorsements

Our fund-raising brochure (to raise money to buy Williamson's house) is on its way to the printers. We were able to include some stirring endorsements and messages of support from a variety of important people and organisations. You can read them via the Our Society section of this web site.

· Grinfield development funding

The consortium planning to build student flats on the Grinfield Street area of the site have had their bid to the National Lottery for funding turned down. It appears, however, that their application for further money from English Partnerships will be accepted. A letter of support from ourselves for their plans to avoid knocking down the two big tunnels in the stable yard has been instrumental in the presumed success of this bid.