I went to my favourite pub last night for dinner as I thought I deserved a treat.

Well, I say I went ... when I got there it was closed.  Closed for good.  A victim of the recession it seems.

A note pinned to the door from the landlady explained the situation to customers and given her apparent passion for Abba, it was themed around the song 'Thank you for the music'.

Up to now I've not given much thought to the economic downturn.  I've not been spending cash willy-nilly and in fact have been trying to tighten my belt a little.  I also know someone who has been made redundant from his job with one of the banks - but he's pleased to be leaving.

Northallerton is chaos on a Saturday morning when the market is in town and Leeds is busy most evenings when I walk back to the train station; with people spilling out of the bars and pubs along Park Row.

Given that, you could be excused for thinking there isn't a recession.

But when I discovered my favourite pub had gone out of business I was suddenly depressed.

OK, the music in there was always a bit bizarre, but the beer was cold, the food was good and the welcome you got was fantastic.  This pub was clearly a family effort and I feel really sorry for everyone involved.

I know from media reports that several pubs are closing every day - but in a busy town like Northallerton I'm really surprised.  Clearly things are pretty grim ... even up north.