Rockvale Rebound – 2013 Summer Outing To Lochgilphead Report by Claire Muir

Rockvale’s annual summer outing took place this year on Saturday 24th August, 2013.
The bus picked me up at 11.10 on time, we went round to pick up Pat and Bobby and Heidi made our company complete. After two hours of travelling through stunning scenery and a bit of Scots mist we arrived at the caravan Park at Inverary and enjoyed a wee drink and a lovely meal assured of good weather.  Yes, this year the weather at Inverary and Lochgilphead was sunny, no rain.
After the meal we stretched our legs in the sunshine and met a canny wee man called Craig who told us we were welcome to see the hall which was used for training by locals for the war. Gregor knew the stories briefly mentioned on the plague. I was mystified as to what operation “Mincemeat” was and really didn’t expect Greg to know – but he did. Apparently a dead British officer in full military uniform was left with some papers giving away false secrets about made up attacks. It fooled the Germans. After being waved off by Roberta and Craig, our next stop was Lochgilphead. Again we found the local people to be very friendly. Sarah got chatting to someone whose grandmother owned one of the more unusual buildings on the shore when it was a dance hall. The family all lived upstairs and downstairs was a busy meeting place. I imagine it was dead romantic when young men took their dates out along the shore after a good hop.
Anyway, we found quite a few shops were still open and our group split up at half 3 to spend a good two hours in Lochghilphead. There seemed to be two main shopping streets and Greg and I decided it was too early for a tea shop and went all along one side of the first street and at the top we saw balloons outside a church and signs for a church fete. But as we made our way towards the church hall, people had already taken down the best part of the main marquee and although we were welcomed by more friendly people, we noticed the summer fete was on from 10 til 3 and we were too late. However, they assured us it had been a great day for the church and had been really busy.
Reluctantly leaving them tidy up we left to continue on down the other side of the first street and complete our tour of their high streets. Wish Dumbarton had such a choice of shops. It did when I first moved to Dumbarton 13 years ago but Lochgilphead still has a butcher and greengrocers in their high street.
Next we walked along the front and it being such a lovely day, we found a few familiar faces sat on benches along the way. We decided to sit for a bit by the front and I asked Bobby if I could take Heidi for a wee walk nearer the edge. That Heidi is a lot stronger than the dogs I’m used to ! I had to reel her in before she pulled me over the edge ! We ended up running along the side of the putting green and it wasn’t long before I’d had my ration of exercise and handed her back to Bobby.
By which time a few more familiar faces had appeared eating ice-cream and reminding Greg and I we’d better get a move on if we were to have tea before our time in Lochgilpead would be over. So we noticed the tea shop we’d had our eye on had closed since we last saw it and we made our way back towards an unusual Chinese and Indian restaurant who ‘don’t normally do tea’ but made some just for us. The staff were very chatty and accommodating and we learned the tall young man serving was looking forward to a new career as an apprentice up in Oban for a fishmonger.
It was obviously a very exciting career move for him and so indicative of how different life choices can be depending on the area you live. We wished him the best of luck and returned to the front in time to see that most of our group had congregated on the front, not looking much like moving towards the bus. So we sat and enjoyed swapping our stories of a good day out until it was definitely time we were back at the bus, we slowly wandered back, the busy traffic seemed to stop to let us all cross the road and we left feeling we’d really enjoyed our welcome in Lochgilphead.
Back on the bus sweets were passed round but instead of the loud bubbling chatter that normally accompanies us on the way home, due to the lower numbers attending this year it was more of a happy, relaxed chatter, more laid back than previous years. Bobby instructed the driver to take a different route home and we saw a lot of the MOD ground at Faslane but mainly the long and winding roads round lochs. It was a beautiful day out.
Unfortunately, this was Roberta’s last season til October when she gives up the lease. We even heard one local worry that the building the restaurant is in might be knocked down to be made bigger. Whatever happens, we salute Roberta and her team for services to Rockvale Rebound.

Thanks Roberta and “Well Done !”