The Moon Under Water

In the recent floods, one of my regular haunts, the Regal Moon in Rochdale was severely flooded.  The photo shows just how bad it was outside and now, I have seen the photos of the inside, courtesy of the manager who is one of my CAMRA members and indeed, a mate of mine.

When water gets into a building it naturally finds the lowest level it can. In this case, in a very large former cinema, built in 1938, it went into the cellars underneath the bar as well as wrecking the bar itself.  The kitchen was ruined too and of course all food written off as well as all open stock and stock touched by the filthy water, which as well as mud, contained sewage.  All pretty grim.  The scene is one of devastation.

So what happens next? Well a number of things. Structural engineers will have to see if permanent damage has been done, the company has to decide how it will be refurbished assuming it is safe and of course the insurers will be involved as reinstatement is the usual requirement of insurers, not wholesale change.  In addition the local authority will have to ensure that all its needs are met and that items from the interior which were listed are re-instated if required.  It will all take time. Best guess is an Easter reopening, worst case scenario is the summer.  All this has been hugely upsetting for the staff who are all a very close team. It has been likened to a bereavement. JDW have been great though and ensured that everyone has been given a temporary job elsewhere, but of course, not in Rochdale. My Wednesday nights are disrupted as is that of its many regulars.  I suppose the only bonus is that other pubs will get a welcome boost, probably the nearby Sam Smith's pub for it's cheap beer.

We'll be going to the Flying Horse tonight. The Sam's pub is keg only.

It may be that there would have been no cask either anyway. I understand that with the flooding of Sam Smith's yard in Tadcaster, thousands of wooden casks have been contaminated and need a deep clean. Cask may be off for some time.