Two recent news stories have caught my attention as interesting but a little misrepresentative. Firstly there was the report that someone called Bryony Dixon had ‘made an astonishing discovery’ the very earliest depiction on film of a narrative by Charles Dickens. Secondly, the news that Jamie Oliver unbelievably had unearthed treasure worth around £1.1 million in the basement of his new restaurant.
Reading a little more critically, it becomes apparent that Ms. Dixon worked as a film archivist at the British Film Institute; was well read in Dickens; the film canister was labelled with the Bleak House character’s name; and the film is only around 8 months older than another Dickens film.
Jamie Oliver’s ‘discovery’ of gold, jewellery, guns and the master tapes of some Joy Division recordings was made in the basement of a Grade II listed old bank in Manchester. The ‘discovery’ happened when HSBC employees audited the contents of their immaculately maintained safety deposit boxes ready for their relocation following selling the building!
Now both stories are interesting and dismissing them may read as a little overly cynical, yet I think we unearth more significant treasures in school on a daily basis.