Issue 133 - December/January 1996/97

Cover: Steve Openshaw in Tham None (main picture and lower inset) and a passage in tham Hoi, Laos. Photographs by Adrian Gregory.

Features:

Hidden Earth.

The 1996 BCRA Conference was a huge success, with an increase in attendance and an overwhelming variety of lectures. Here are the reports on the talks and competitions, the events and displays.

Lost in the Mine.

In 1953 John Butler was lost in a mine working. Alone, his matches damp and his candle extinguished, he settleddown to die in the dark. Alan Jeffreys tells the tale of John's struggle to survive.

The Caves of Lao.

Adrian Gregory takes us to the Lao Peoples Democratic Republic in search of caves, but he not only finds caverns but also frustration and difficulties along the way.

Bring Down the Government.

Not every dig immediately yields new passage in Ogof Draenen but that doesn't stop the fun.

Plus the regular Newsdesk, reports from Wales, Derbyshire, Scotland, Devon, Ireland, Mendip, North, Forest of Dean, International, Internet and Mining.

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