There was ferment in an Aberdeenshire town about the only pub in the village reopening after two years.
But the Kintore Arms had to delay pouring pints – because the owner sent contractors to help with the downpour inflicted on flood victims in January.
The Kintore Arms is being redeveloped as a lounge and bar by local man Steve MacDonald, who previously worked in the pub as a barman 10 years ago.
The 19th-century hostelry will now re-open next Thursday under the new name The Square Bar and Lounge.
And despite Mr MacDonald having to postpone the grand opening, he insisted he never intended prioritising his business over the relief effort to aid those hit by Storm Frank.
He said: “Due to a fair bit of flooding through Kintore, we have incurred some delays, because we let a lot of our contractors such as joiners and electricians go and help flood victims.
“So we took the hit on that, but it was the right thing to do and the decision we wanted to go with.
“Besides, it was always going to be quite tight to get it finished on time and the locals knew that.
“While it looks far off from being finished today, it will be done next week.
“But considering a lot of our guys were supposed to start in January and didn’t get here until February, due to flood relief work, we have tried to stick as close to our original opening date as possible.
“We wanted to get everyone else back to where they should have been and told all our contractors to forget about us for the time being.
“I did the labouring work I could do myself – I can use a hammer all right, and my father helped out.”
Mr MacDonald also confessed that, despite the stresses of the project, it had been a long-standing dream of his to get the pup and running.
He said: “The village is screaming out for a pub, everyone in the village has been very supportive and all the guys working here have really pulled together to get it does as soon as possible.
“After taking on this pub, despite the stress, I’d hate to say but I’d do it again with a different pub – I’ve really enjoyed it, and after working here when I was 14 for 10 years as a kitchen porter and a bar tender, I always said I wanted this pub – so when the option came up to lease the property – I took it.
“It’s been a bit of an on-going dream for years and I can’t wait to get open and pour a pint.”
