IT was a sombre and reflective audience that drifted away from the Station cinema in Richmond on Monday night.

The second screening of a documentary, Shed your Tears and Walk Away, during the cinema’s annual film festival had been held, accompanied by the chance, afterwards, to talk to the film’s director, Jez Lewis, about his extraordinary account of one aspect of life in the picturesque Pennine town of Hebden Bridge.

The film was extraordinary in its almost unremitting, no-holds-barred, portrayal of a section of the town’s population and their hopeless addiction to drink and drugs and the consequent high levels of suicide among them.

Mr Lewis comes from Hebden Bridge and was moved to make the film because he realised that every time he returned to his home town it was for the funeral of someone he had grown up with.

The terrible situation of some of the town’s young people and the halting, painful, attempts of one friend to break out of the cycle of addiction was not for the squeamish. Mr Lewis, who stated categorically that he’s “no bleeding-heart Liberal”, can’t now watch the film, it’s too upsetting for him.

Spectator had the privilege of chairing the question and answer session and was struck by the thoughtful questions asked by the audience. But then Richmond’s like that. It is full of thoughtful people.

Although the film and the discussion afterwards raised a host of issues around disaffected youth in ‘nice’ market towns, one aspect that remained with Spectator was the danger of communities turning their backs on a problem. It would appear mainstream society, and certainly authority, in Hebden Bridge has done just that, perhaps in the hope that the stumbling, leery and crazed groups of young people in its public parks and other open spaces will just go away, or because it believes its task is to present the town in a positive light.

While not of the opinion that any of the towns in our area have the particular problems faced by Hebden Bridge, every town will have individuals like the people featured in Shed Your Tears and Walk Away. Spectator, who would point out he’s no bleeding-heart liberal either, suggests that we ignore such issues at our communities’ peril.

Sound of silence

Spectator has been blown away this week by the fierce reaction to last week’s report that presented the view of an influential member of the community in Thirsk that parking charges had no impact on the town centre.

Well, actually that’s not strictly true. In fact, the silence has been deafening.

Not one letter has been received from Thirsk, or any other of the communities affected by the imposition of charges a year ago.

Coun Arthur Barker, the former leader of Hambleton District Council, and other senior members of the council who were not exactly popular at the time they took the decision to impose the charges, will now doubt muse on the irony of it all.