The Eccentric Magazine
Though it is very tempting to claim that a club which started in the 1780s had a club magazine equally old, especially, since there was indeed "The Eccentric Magazine" written entirely by James Caulfield and published between 1812 and 1820 by G.Smeeton and then J.Arnett, but any such claim would be untrue.
The story of our magazine began at the Eccentric Club Christmas Dinner in 1968 when the club President, Sir James Miller, mentioned in his speech that it was high time the eccentrics had a House Magazine. Prior to that the club was producing one-off commemorative or charity fundraising publications, but this time the idea was 'to create an even closer link between member and club'.
Sam Morley, one of the members, a company director specialising in electrical services, a keen golf player and an occasional contributor to the golfing magazines, volunteered to put the magazine together, although, apart from writing, Sam had no publishing experience whatsoever!
Nevertheless, in September 1969 the very first issue of 'The Eccentric' was finally published! Initially, it was just 26 pages long and looked a bit amateurish, but very quickly Sam got the hang of it and was joined by more professional journalists, artists and publishers, attracted the advertisers, and 'The Eccentric' became a much loved regular feature of the club.
In 1977 Sam passed on his editorial duties to the BBC TV producer Richard Afton assisted by Eric Frais, who changed the size and the format of the magazine and continued producing more sophisticated issues having 96 pages and lots of advertisements from the members and the friends of the club. Sam went on to publish five books on his golfing adventures.
Magazine production was halted along with the club closure in the 1980s.
The revived club resumed it in 2010, going back to the more original A5 size and settling for 56 pages only.
The 'Third Series' of the magazine continues the tradition of publishing the club news, articles by the members, historic materials, advertisements of the associated businesses and individuals. We try to keep the same style and feel, carefully mixing the modern features with the more traditional ones.
'The Eccentric' is distributed among the members of the Eccentric Club, throughout other clubs in London, England, Scotland, Ireland, USA, South Africa and occasionally finds its way to the other clubs in other countries. It reaches a unique selection of readers of particular interests and pursuits, income and status, presenting therefore a well focused target audience for its authors, contributors and advertisers.
Some back issues may be ordered from the Club Secretary. Enquiries about the advertising and sponsorship opportunities are always welcome (subject to anything being advertised having interest or relevance to our members and readers).
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In June-December 2013, while the production of the printed magazine was temporarily stopped, a member of the Eccentric Club volunteered to produce a monthly online newsletter called 'The Howler', which, although made in an entirely different style, was an invaluable source of the current news for the members and a great record of the club life.