I think you'll find that most of the team involved with the Rift/Ireby dig, both past and present, also cave abroad. Some regularly and some on those unworthy big foreign expeditions. If you want to spend 25 years digging a doline in Mendip then that's just fine, it's what you want to do, but don't belittle others who want to broaden their horizons in Matienzo, Mexico, Megalaya or Mulu.
The 'Credit Crunch Expedition' is great for Derbyshire and I hope they make some real progress but is has been in the planning for well over a year, which is much longer than it takes to organise a big foreign trip these days. After all, it is only a week or so's digging. In the Dales this sort of organised digging goes on all the time. The above breakthrough is testament to that, as is the recent Skylight dig in Ireby which attracted some 40 cavers for each of the 'Grand days out' and took very little time to plan and organise.
There is now only 50m of faulted choke between Notts 2 and Lost Johns. This has been an active dig for many years. In January there was a positive smoke test between the two which spurred on the work (in between expeditions of course). Recent discoveries elsewhere in the system may also lead to a link. Then if you're incredibly hard and can dive you'll be able to go from Bull Pot of the Witches all the way to Large Pot, or vica versa. Looking forward to reading about that one!