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The howls could be heard up Harrogate’s Cold Bath Road this week at the news that Hoxton North is to close. Customers were caught crying in their halloumi and avocado at the thought of the dark days ahead.

The coffee shop has been the place to be seen for more than a decade, and a place to see the town’s glitterati. Remember this awkward encounter between ex-England manager Gareth Southgate and ex-England player-turned-pundit Micah Richards?

If you’re looking for an alternative, the McDonald’s on Cambridge Road has just re-opened. The vibe is somewhat different but it has a loyal following.

If you go shortly before midday, chances are you’ll see Anne, who loves McDonald’s so much she’s visited virtually every day for 12 years and always orders the same meal: a Big Mac with no onions and no pickles. Whoever replaced Ronald McDonald should surely order a plaque out of respect for her arterial efforts.

If McDonald’s reopening was good, and Hoxton North’s impending demise bad, then the ugly was the pilfering of cakes from an honesty stall in Kirkby Overblow. It would be a sad day if the many local honesty boxes disappear because of thieves.

Away from food, potholes were, not for the first time, a major talking point this week. Ripon councillor Andrew Williams, a man rarely short of a colourful turn of phrase, compared York-based mayor David Skaith with Dick Turpin this week for diverting £7 million of highways funding away from North Yorkshire’s roads and towards York’s.

North Yorkshire Council leader Carl Les, a member of the same political group as Cllr Williams, said the news could have “a very detrimental effect on the condition of our highways”.

Nevertheless, it was revealed this week that money had been found for a new pothole-repair scheme… in Ripon, days after Cllr Les met Cllr Williams and Ripon city councillor Jackie Crozier in the city to inspect the state of Dallamires Lane.

If you ever think being council leader is glamorous, consider if you'd like to look at potholes in the pouring rain on Mother's Day.

In Harrogate, work finally began — sort of — on the £14.6 million Harrogate Station Gateway scheme. Part of the roof of the tempietto on Station Square was removed and minor work to reduce the height of a wall in the One Arch area was undertaken to prevent planning consent from lapsing on a scheme that has been beset by delays even before a series of legal challenges. 

Work is more substantively underway on the redevelopment of Darley Mill.

Finally, what have you done today to make you feel proud? For most over-40s, it’s impossible not to sing those words in the style of Heather Small. It was announced this week the M People vocalist will bring her amazing voice to Harrogate this summer for the first outdoor music concert at the Great Yorkshire Showground since Elton John performed in soggy 2012.

The prospect of hearing the Londoner sing is surely enough to compensate for the loss of a slice of the capital when Hoxton North closes.