From: Robert J Howie <rjhowie@yahoo.com>
Photos in the Skipness Photo section.

Our Boys' Brigade company camped at Skipness bi-annually 
from the 50's to around 1976 and I was there as an oficer,
firstly Lieutenant then Captain.

We camped in the field behing the old kirkyard and
when we first went there there was still an old RAF or
army watchtower! I can recall the Mundells above is on
the farm where we got our milk and the "wee shop"
eventually run for a time by a brother/sister in the
70's. We always had a Drumhead Service on one of our 2
Sunday afternoons and the villagers would come up or
that and tea afterwards. We paraded to Skipness kirk
on the first sunday but the second was a long march to
clonaig and back!. The minister was a Reverend Lamont.
Of cours the Oaks family in the "big house" are well
remembered and the BB Captain always invited over on
an afternoon for a drink when Mr Oaks would comment on
the laughs they often had watching the boys at high
jinks in camp. A fire in the house led to his death
but he always came over on the last day to say
farewell to the boys.

I understand that the cook amil (they lived in a
village house across the road from tubular bells which
hung ascross the road) is still working here in
Glasgow and in the offices of the congegational church
still?? We always finished camp on the last night with
a bonfire and villagers would come up for that. The BB
seniors went to village dance held whilst we were
there and again many recollections. One of the elders
lived near the church in the village - can't recall
his name but he had one arm yet still played against
us at football!! Our BB company is till functioning
ater 114 years but for many of our boys and officers
like myself, skipness was a place of great happiness.
We also knew Mrs Thomson next to the field very well
and often had a cup of tea. On another occasions
another officer and I went a walk early one evening
and couldn't fathom why there were few boys to be seen
until we reached the bend towards the shop. There we
found a local had invited boys in to wathc "Top Of The
Pops" and there were over 20 o them from the living
room and the windows. 

Great times...and a great place of happy reminisces...

Robert J Howie, JP
21 Jul 2001

I am hoping to make contact with a Patsi Cook who
apparently works in Glasgow. Her family lived in the
middle of the village near the "wee shop" and I by
chance on watching one of the great walker Tom Weir on
one of his jaunts it was on Skipness. He was standing
in front of the Cook cottage. They had tubular bells
put up on the shore side across the road and it
brought back recollections of them and others. I can
even remember a military watchtower on our camp field
- the BB used the tarmac arrow pointing down the mull
for ninepins! (it's well away now) Many is the time I
used the old cemetry for ghost stories including one I
made up entitled "The Mad Laird of Skipness". I managed
to be so convincing that one 14 year old was convinced
on going back to his tent that he seen a light in the
ruined castle. I still have photos of the plane that
landed next to our camp just to prove it happened!! One
day I would like to get back there just to see the
place where I went with all those boys over the years.
Now we "camp" indoors - a different generation!
However many of our ex-members had great times as boys
down there and we had such a good contac with the
locals and the Oaks family who had the estate. 

Robert J Howie, JP
22 Aug 2001