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I hope that list members will forgive me for rewarming this issue, but I got the following email "off list" and had to wait for its author to return from holiday to get his permission to send it on. Having caught them again last night - this time doing some potholing, perhaps it is not too cold. If someone from the local water authority was watching they, at least, might have been interested in the sewage flowing through the cave! Dear Mike, Although I am not a member of "the list", I regularly log on to keep up with opinions and current thinking as it applies to metaliferrous mining, past & present, in the UK. So I hope you won't object to this unsolicited e-mail on the above subject. With more than 30 years of mine exploration behind me and a lifetimes' career spent working for the UK's Public Service Broadcaster (no prizes for correctly identifying it!) in both network Radio & Television, I feel that I am in an ideal position to see both arguments regarding the recent Cannel 4 transmissions of "Extreme Archaeology". For years now, programme makers have been desperate to find original programme ideas, something different from the daily dose of wall-to-wall makeovers/antique fairs/boot sales/wife swaps/filthy homes/unruly kids type of output that dominates the 5 UK TV channels these days. Believe it or not, the original Reithian values of "Educate, Inform and Entertain" are still adhered to (although these days very loosely) by most of the major networks (you can forget the smaller satellite channels and some cable TV here), but the proportions of each do vary considerably. So a programme format that has elements of glamour, danger (albeit contrived), intellect and stunning locations must have been jumped on by the Commissioning Editor at C4. After all, no matter often they will deny it (public service broadcasting included), it's all about viewing figures and ratings. So forget about historical and archaeological accuracy, or the bigger picture as it applies to our specialism, the producer was after drama, some attractive graduates in wet suits getting mucky and a little bit of industrial/historical interest. And that is exactly what he got. To the average viewer this probably was quite watchable telly. However, as is always the case, to the serious viewer who would be expecting more it fell way short of the mark. But the programme wasn't made for serious and dedicated mine explorers and industrial historians, it was targeting the lowest common denominator, also known as the mass audience, who would be completely unaware of any "dumbing down". However, take it from me, all television is to some extent an illusion, and most people really do believe what they see on TV or read in the papers..........ignorance is bliss! I have to add that even I was amazed at the passionate response from fellow mine adventurers damning this bit of hocum, but it had to be watched in context and with a large helping of salt, but nevertheless I do share the views, yours included, of all who have voiced their feelings. I first 'discovered' Parys Mountain with some friends way back in the late 1960's on a hot Sunday afternoon and was taken aback by it's desolate beauty (if that's the right adjective) and the sheer scale of the mining operation there. What I shall always remember was the reek of sulphur in the air from the dumps of pyrites baking in the sun. We couldn't find a way in on that occasion, but gained the impression even then it was a site of immense interest. I now spend my spare time happily pottering around the old lead mines up here in the north Pennines, far away from the hassles of "TV land", pausing only to curse the landowners/farmers who are paranoid about anyone seen wandering about the fells wearing a helmet and caplamp! Regards, David Kinrade,