'Helen of Four Gates'

I'm a reluctant fan of Facebook. For example, I don't think Mark Zuckerberg is a visionary who anticipated a more relaxed approach to privacy in an online age. Rather, I think he has relentlessly eroded that privacy. How else can one explain the always open default policy of each new set of Facebook security settings?

But, of course, it's pros outweigh its cons or I wouldn't be on there. I like it partly for the reason I love Instagram, watching other people's lives go past through their own eyes. And it's useful for keeping up with news, of course, and for keeping an eye on what's happening. A couple of days ago, for example, I had a notification telling me that my friend Simon was going to see 'Helen of Four Gates', showing as part of the Yorkshire Silent Film Festival.

I dropped him a line to see if he fancied some company but it turned out he could no longer attend. He did, however, encourage me to see it, and I decided to play it by ear. And today, as the weather markedly improved around lunch time, a drive down to Hebden Bridge seemed increasingly attractive.

And it was very enjoyable. Out to Settle, on to Skipton, through Keighley, and thence down to Hebden Bridge via Haworth. The sun was shining and the music in my car was rather good, although, of course, I would say that. The town was looking lovely as I descended into it and, as I'd arrived early, I had a wander down to the canal before finding a bar for a pre-film bottle of beer.

The Picture House itself is a delight, perfectly retro, like the Palace at Longridge. The film had a live harp accompaniment, and I sat in my seat happily munching on some Revels while people quietly prepared for the screening. The film itself was made in 1920 and thought lost until a copy was found in 2007, in Canada.

It was pretty dreadful, actually, although the written plates that punctuated the scenes with dialogue were written quite unforgiving in Yorkshire dialect which was rather surprising and amusing. Still, it was only an hour and a quarter long and the novelty sustained it well enough.