NOT the best weather for a photocall, but then it was almost the last day of the year, and Glasgow in late December tends not to be too indulgent towards outdoor photocalls, even if they do involve the Lord Provost. On December 29, 1986, Lord Provost Robert Gray met the Scottish Women’s Netball Team in George Square, where they sat on two park benches presented by the district council to the Scottish Netball Association to mark the council’s contribution to the World Netball Tournament, at the city’s Crownpoint Sports Park the following August. The tournament had previously been held in England, Australia, Jamaica, New Zealand, Trinidad & Tobago and Singapore, being staged once every four years. At Crownpoint, New Zealand won; and the Scottish team came ninth in the final placings.

This weekend, as it happens, the current national team, the Scottish Thistles, play in the Netball World Cup Regional Qualifier – Europe event, in Perth, in the hope of reaching the 16-team competition, which takes place in Liverpool in July 2019.

Our thanks to Netball Scotland for providing us with the names of the 1986 players. From left to right: Elaine Collins, Sandra Robertson, Liz Balfour, Moira Ord (former President of the Scottish Netball Association, now Netball Scotland), Susan Mosher (captain, with the Lord Provost on her knee) , Caroline Downie.