Friday 28 April 2017

Hi,

it's been four weeks since the flood! Yikes! Wasn't that just yesterday, or back in some galaxy far far away?

What a month! My little shop is back up and running as normal (there's that word "normal" again), and the last week or two have allowed me to catch up considerably on the backlog of repairs.

If you have a repair with me, please call or email as to it's status. I'll also be calling as many of you as I can next week.

It looks very much like I'll have to be closed the week commencing May 8th, as the building is being renovated. I have advised my landlord that I'm fine with this, but that I can only accept being closed for one week only. He has his building insured, and insurance is like being beholden to the devil, so he (and I) are at the mercy (if that's the word) of his insurers and their splendid trades-folk. Thay have one week (max) to do their stuff. I recently had a carpet layed at home, in an area slightly larger than my shop's two rooms, and one guy did it in about two-and-a-half hours. Great job. We had a guy lay Karndean vinyl boards through three bedrooms - seven hours. Spiffing.

So I will re-open the week commencing Tuesday 16th May. If renovations continue beyond this point, then trading in these circumstances may be a bit Beirut, but it will all shake down fine. If entry to the building is compromised then I'll have a billboard directing y'all to the back entrance.

Because I will be closed from May 8 to May15, it would be great if you could collect your guitars before that. I will be calling you all about this. If you collect your guitar, and pay me for the repair, that would be excellent. If that doesn't happen, I will have to put the guitars into storage while the building renovations take place. This is not a problem, but the less guitars I have to do this to, the better.

Apologies to those of you who's guitars I have completed, and to whom I haven't yet called, but it has been a busy busy time. I hate to use the flood as an excuse but...in most cases, nearly all of them, it was! 

Sorry this has been a bit of a down-vibe post. Much happy stuff to follow, including mentions of some of the splendid help I have had re-inventing the shop. A lovely bunch of folk are supporting me in this, and I won't forget any of it.

Read my next post! It is a much more happy tale, the story of a nice old guitar that had been through almost as much hell as the darned flood!

Andrew