Letters to Ann

Dear Ann,

I have always liked listening to the radio when in bed, but when your partner is lying beside you it is not always appropriate as there is the need to consider others who may want to sleep when you suffer from insomnia! However, after Max passed I guess one of the silver linings was the fact that you can do anything you like when you live on your own, so I soon got into the habit of turning the radio on as I slipped into bed.

My bedtime is usually around 10 PM. & I found this to be the time that one of ABC’s presenters, Tony Delroy came on air. I discovered that his hours of work were from 10 PM until 2 AM.

I found Tony to be the instigator of a lot of very interesting interviews from all walks of life & with folk from all over the world who were widely known around the Universe. Another thing I liked about him was that he was a very articulate speaker, very precise & never spoke in a hurry which made him all the more enjoyable to listen to, especially when one’s hearing starts to deteriorate.

Tony was also often present at book launches interviewing the author while the audience were enjoying a luncheon or a dinner at the appropriate venue. After the presentation people were invited to ask questions & I really enjoyed those occasions immensely. It was the same when Tony was interviewing professors, teachers & the like in the studio who were knowledgeable on certain subjects. Time was again allowed after the discussion for listeners to phone in with questions or something interesting to say on the subject being discussed.

Tony Delroy

I have been an avid listener to Tony for the past twelve years & even when I overcame my insomnia last year I still liked to listen to him when I went to bed. Mostly though, particularly over the past year or so, I have fallen asleep while he is still talking & will wake up around midnight when he is in the throes of conducting his quiz at this time every night for five nights a week.

I think it was because I liked this so much that I would instinctively wake up to hear it & then fall asleep again although many times I have listened to him for the full four hours.

With his quiz show it was something like old family week, as he had the most amazing following. Listeners would hang onto that phone for ages until their turn came to talk to him & nearly every one of those listeners was Tony’s friend. Before they answered the question they would have a personal phone conversation with Tony, on air, which sometimes went on for minutes & then they would say “What was the question Tony”?

The quiz was scheduled from midnight to 1 a.mAM, but it very often went beyond time with Tony being very polite & aware that the listeners looked forward to this time to chat to him, but he also had a schedule to live by.

We take a lot for granted & everyone who knew him looked forward to Tony Delroy on ABC ‘Night Life’ all over the country & beyond. People would phone in for the quiz from many different parts of the world & all of them known by Tony.

Then about three weeks ago the bombshell was dropped & I happened to be listening that night & was glad I was. Tony started the evening by saying the time had come to say he was retiring, that he had given it a lot of thought over a long period of time & came to the decision that there were things he still wanted to do while he was still comparatively young.

He had been doing ‘Night Life’ for 26 years: coming to work late at night; going home in the early morning hours. Even after getting home, the hype of the nature of his work which made it difficult for sleep.

He said himself one night that it was good if he got to sleep by 5 a.m. However, if he was every tired or in any way not himself, no one would ever know as he had the patience of Job.

For instance, one avid listener who called in every night was wishing him & his partner all the best for his retirement & then asked “I was told your partner is male is that correct Tony”? I thought how very rude & the obvious answer would be “Well I think that’s none of your business,” but Tony simply replied “No, that’s not correct.”

I have never met Tony. I only know what he vaguely looks like as Philip showed me a photo of him on line once when I was talking to him about Tony & saying how much I appreciated his expertise. I wouldn’t have a clue as to his private life other than I know he has a cat called Barbara. Often people would ask after Barbara which is a funny name for a cat. However from time to time Tony would mention his cat if she had been off sick but this sort of thing was the intimacy Tony shared with his followers.

So the night he announced his retirement, I felt – like hundreds of others – sad that we were going to lose such a fine presenter. From that night on & for the three weeks he was still on air I think absolutely everyone he interviewed & absolutely everyone he spoke to gave him accolades. People were ringing in to be on the quiz: first time listeners, not just for the quiz but to tell him how much they thought of him.

One could tell how overwhelmed Tony was &, at times you could hear the tears in his voice. My heart welled up for him many times. After a week & a half he said, very haltingly, one night that he had tried to acknowledge all the letters & cards coming to him & was unable to cope, but mentioned how much he appreciated all the thoughts & love they conveyed.

I even wanted to write to Tony myself, to tell him how much his broadcasts had meant to me, but when he said he was getting between 300 & 500 cards & letters per day I decided against adding another to the list when he didn’t know me from a bar of soap!

However, that didn’t stop me from listening to him as avidly as I could during the past three weeks. He said some amazing things were going to happen during the last week & gave us all the times to listen for them & amazing they were. Excerpts were played from interviews, book launches etc. given by Tony during that 26 years; excerpts from famous people & it was fabulous.

Last Friday night was his finale & I was in a thorough mess in my kitchen when all of a sudden I remembered Tony was on air. I rushed into the bedroom to turn my radio on & am not ashamed to admit that I sat on the side of my bed crying as I am right now in writing this to you.

It was poignant especially when some singer he knew – Rahl somebody or other – sang “Are you old & lonely.” I didn’t feel old & lonely until that moment, but I couldn’t help thinking how much I was going to miss Tony Delroy. So I am no different to the others who were able to convey their thoughts & love for him.

I might add here that the chappie who asked about Tony’s private life promised Tony he would render the National Anthem of ‘God Save the Queen’, all three verses, plus our own National Anthem ‘Advance Australia Fair’ in full, one night before Tony left.

It took a bit of doing with the busy schedule arranged each night but i was determined to hear it & it was sang beautifully. I don’t quite realise what the significance was but it was a nice gesture – this caller always addressed Tony as ‘kind Sir’ every night which was also rather nice.

Tony’s send off from the staff at ABC was quite spectacular for a radio broadcast. Barbara, the cat, even played a part! Everything was said that could be said & more. Tony has promised many of his listeners that he will drop in for a cuppa in time to come & I am sure he will.

The ultimate came when there was a call from friends of his from Canada & a lot of sentimental things were said by the callers. They got around to saying that they were having a wow of a time doing what they were doing in Canada & asked if Tony would join them on this holiday. Tony said a whopping big loud “You mean it? YES, I’ll have my cases packed tonight & will leave in the morning”. I feel pretty sure this is what did happen & have a suspicion that it was all arranged weeks before!

Nevertheless, I, like thousands of others will miss this fine man & his retirement for me is second to how I felt when Princess Diana passed but the good thing is that Tony is still here. If I could say anything to him personally I would thank him so much for the enjoyment I had in listening to him over the years & wish him a very fruitful & wonderful retirement as he travels the world.

My Fondest Love Always, Dawn X O X O