Author's Notes

When Don McPherson, long-term Harlequin, who played in the 1962 Premiership side, suggested to the committee that the club should revisit the issue of a club history (the 1978 attempt did not get beyond a brief introduction) as part of the 75th anniversary celebrations I did not expect anyone to nominate me for the task. It has in fact been a labour of love. I now understand the club, its history, cul;ture and ethos in greater depth than I had thought possible.  It has been a pleasure to talk to the many characters who have made a bee-line for the Harlequins to understand what attracted them.

To give the history a wider feel I decided to ask a number of influential Harlequins to write about specific eras and events over some 75 years. Consequently Rod Abbott, David Bray, Neil Carter, David Elias, Charlie Grieve and Stan Shaw gave up their valuable time to write about "their" Harlequin Club.

Jim Blackie was an invaluable advisor and provided much needed creative inputs.  David Elias, who wrote one chapter, also edited the work and made many valuable suggestions re. style and content.  Paula Dolan did the original formatting of the text enabling me to start writing in earnest.

My son Andrew also contributed to the effort by scanning all of the photographs that have added much to the result.

Dan Papadopoulos, a family friend who happened to own a printing business gave me much free advice about a subject of hich I knew little and also recommended graphic designer Enza Rezaee to us.  Peter Lever, the club photographer, took some special photgraphs for me taht have also added to the final result.

Without them the book would not have been written and I thank them for their time and efforts.

Finally I hope that the book will give Harlequins and non-Harlequins alike an idea of what has made the club such a fascinating and at times infuriating place to be around.

Mark Baxter