this journal thing is becoming addictive! Perhaps I'll do it more often from now on (with hopefully more interesting and positive posts - maybe even about guitars!).
Little shop now seems to be back to normal, in an operative sense at least. Kind folk bringing in new repairs or picking up their completed ones, just as it ever was. Decor-wise, it's still a bit bleak, but what passed for "decor" was always a bit shaky anyway. This gives me a chance to re-design! The re-born version will be a bit more tidy, and will have somewhere comfy for you to sit (while I'm messing around with someone else's guitar).
The building will be renovated (my landlord was insured) and this may take some time. I've already told him that I'd like the bare-minimum restoration in my rooms, simply so that I can get back to normal ASAP. My landlord bought the building a few years ago and has restored it wonderfully - he has been fastidious regarding fittings and decor, not to mention the splendid pressed-metal ceilings and walls. He clearly loves the place, and is hurting quite a bit. He's a good chap, and is going to make it all better again, not the least for himself and his business (Lismore Skin Clinic).
I've done the sums, and I lost a bit. Much less than other folk (those businesses dependent on retail sales, for example), but still significant. Five figures, just. Thankfully I can still fix your guitars, so I'll be able to get back to where I was before the flood in a few months, or by next summer.
I've attached a few photos, with more to follow, perhaps. They don't show all the stuff in my chests of drawers than rusted or turned to mush, but you'll get the idea.
Again: I was lucky that only one meter of water flowed into the shop. I follow the BOM website like a religion, and on the Wednesday it seemed clear that we were going to have problems, so I got most of the guitars out that evening. I had a "flood-plan", and since this event I have co-ordinated another two flood plans, involving moving guitars and stock out of the firing-line. So if this ever seems like it may happen again, I will clean out my tiny shop (with the help of a few stalwart friends), and we won't go through this shit again.
Most of the shops in town that got themselves back open and running quickly all seem to be the family businesses, and owner-operated businesses (like mine), that had a flood plan. The chain stores and distantly-owned franchises are still closed up with condensation on the inside of the windows. Hopefully their insurance policies will allow them to crank up again. Lots of big red hearts in the windows of the re-opened shops. The North Will Rise again!
OK. If you've been following this journal, thank you. Normal service (or what passes for normal 'round here) has been resumed.
Check out the pictures (they don't make it look quite as nasty as it was, for some inexplicable reason...). The muddy river had receded when these shots were taken. Third pic is AK showing eventual river height in shop. 955mm. Without the one-meter of muddy-water in there it looks quite tidy! Imagine the shop if it was all brown, stinky water up to my hand in the third photo, which it actually was for almost three days. And then imagine that shit ALL THROUGH TOWN. Yikes! More to follow.
Andrew
