On this special episode, we delve into early television with Professor John Wyver, whose book and conference is all about those overlooked decades of Stooky Bill, I think that's a pen, and vertical screens no bigger than a postcard. Sound familiar? 2026 is a big television centenary. On 26 January 1926, John Logie Baird gave the first public demonstration of television, showing moving images to a small gathering of scientists at his Frith Street laboratory in central London. To celebrate, Magic Rays of Light: The Early Years of Television in Britain is a new book by Professor John Wyver - writer, producer and Professor of the Arts on Screen at the University of Westminster. That university will soon be hosting a live in-person conference, The Cultures of Early Television, on 2 and 3 July at London's Portland Hall, not too far from today's BBC Broadcasting House. John Wyver is organising this, and joins us to talk us through the early years of television, the programmes available, the people behind it, what cinema made of TV, whether John Reith was a fan, how well-off were its first viewers, and much more. Plus 27 June 2026 sees the end of longwave in the UK, so we take a quick look at how it developed, and herald an event by Cray Valley Radio Society that you can listen to or go to (if you're near Eltham). It's all part of a few episodes themed on things you can go to this summer, from last episode's Asking Elvis show to next episode's Archers retrospective, via my own show An Evening of (Very) Old Radio and John Wyver's early television conference. Details of all of these in the shownotes, so read on...     SHOWNOTES: Original podcast music is by Will Farmer.  Professor John Wyver's book is Magic Rays of Light: https://www.bloomsbury.com/uk/magic-rays-of-light-9781839028205/ His conference The Cultures of Early Television is on 2-3 July 2026 at Portland Hall, London - and registration is free: https://www.westminster.ac.uk/events/the-cultures-of-early-television Paul's show is An Evening of (Very) Old Radio: The BBC Then and Now - and this summer it plays Westbury in Wiltshire and Weston-super-Mare in Somerset: paulkerensa.com/tour Mitch Benn's show is Asking Elvis. Details of where/when and how to submit a question to Elvis on Mitch's website: https://www.mitchbenn.com/asking-elvis We also mention The Archers Live at 75, on tour around the UK. More next time... https://www.fane.co.uk/the-archers A final event to mention: Cray Valley Radio Society's event you can visit - and details of their special stations - in tribute to the closure of BBC Longwave on 27 June 2026: https://cvrs.uk/event/gb198lw-radio-4-long-wave-closure/  Those blogs on the closure of R4 Longwave include this by Random Radio Jottings: https://andywalmsley.blogspot.com/2026/06/so-long-long-wave.html ...and this by the Radio Society of Great Britain: https://rsgb.org/main/radio-sport/rsgb-contest-club/bbc-long-wave-shutdown/ ...and one last longwave article: https://radioatlanticodelsur.blogspot.com/2025/06/ Our latest Substack: paulkerensa.substack.com Our Facebook group: facebook.com/groups/bbcentury Find us on BlueSky: bsky.bbcentury.social Find Paul on Instagram: instagram.com/paulkerensa Join Paul's mailing list This podcast is not made by today's BBC. It's just about the old BBC. With the loss of Paul's recent live work (blame strokes - not the band...), Patreon has become even more helpful and significant! Help keep this podcast afloat by supporting for £5/mth, and in return get extra videos, writings, readings etc: patreon.com/paulkerensa - thanks! Or support this project with a one-off tip: ko-fi.com/paulkerensa - thanks too! Please share/rate/review this podcast if you like - it all helps. Next time, Episode 123: The Archers Live at 75 with comedian and broadcaster Angela Barnes. Then we're back in our timeline in Nov 1923 for the first BBC relay station, Sheffield 6FL. More on this broadcasting history project at paulkerensa.com/oldradio