Amanda Green: Flood recovery update

It's a bit on the stressful side at the moment. We're not quite on target to open, but we're doing it anyway. We've had some last-minute issues which are quite major, for example it was decided last week that the central heating needed a new boiler, so we've had to have all that put in.

We had a pre-opening yesterday and I invited everyone living in the immediate as well as some local dignitaries. The Lord Mayor and the borough mayor turned up and we all had some complimentary drinks and a buffet. It was very nice, if a bit chaotic

I kept it quite low-key because I didn't think it was appropriate to open with a big fanfare or party. A lot of people around us are still really suffering, so I didn't feel comfortable making too much of it. There are people living in caravans, so having a huge celebration would be like saying "look at me, I'm finished but ha ha, you're not".

Everyone thinks the refurb is fabulous and there's been a lot of positive feedback. Mostly people are just glad that the pub is open and that they've got their local back. The front of house looks great, if you saw it you wouldn't know that we'd had any problems. It's the back of house I've had issues with, things have really fallen behind.

I've only had one interim payment on the contents insurance, not anything like the amount of money I've spent so far. I'm hoping the full amount trickles through over time, or I'm going to be pretty much broke. The money that's come through so far has just about covered the kitchen expenses.

We're opening tonight, but have had to delay the food by 24 hours because it's all fresh cooked and we haven't been able to get to the kitchen. I would like to have a proper event on July 20 next year, to mark the anniversary of the flood.

If it happens again, my bags will be packed. I'll never feel the same about rain. It started raining heavily two or three weeks ago and the car park started filling up and I was thinking "is it going to happen again?" There's an underlying problem with the drainage system, not just for me but for the people opposite me. We've had our drains cleaned five times now, but whenever it rains heavily the drains fill up and the car parks get flooded.

I'm glad to be re-opening as it's a step back to reality. My flat can go back to being my flat, rather than a place for old boxes and dusty office stuff. It'll be great to have customers back in too, you miss the social contact. There's a few more bits to do, and probably a couple of weeks until it's all running properly, but then I can start smiling again.