The video records a series of informal speeches delivered at Sir Edmund Halley's by members of the Odd Fellows group to celebrate Anthony Graham Edwards' 85th birthday. The opening speaker frames the occasion with a whimsical look back at the year 1936, noting historic events (the death of King George V, the abdication crisis) before announcing Tony's birth. Subsequent speakers offer heartfelt tributes, mixing humor, British‑Welsh cultural references, and personal anecdotes. They highlight Tony’s integrity, wit, memory, patience, generosity, and his role as a supportive friend, mentor, and family figure. Stories range from teaching cricket rules, sharing a tiny fish, remembering conversations months later, to his “dog humor” and “bad British jokes.” Several speakers playfully reference the Queen granting Tony dual citizenship and joke about making him an Englishman, while also expressing pride in his British heritage. The overall tone is celebratory, affectionate, and lightly comedic, emphasizing Tony’s impact on the Odd Fellows community and on individual lives, and concluding with collective birthday chants and well‑wishes for many more years.
Chapters
Welcome to Sir Edmund Halley's, home of the Odd Fellows group for at least the past 10 years. As you know, every, every time we put an event on, an Odd Fellows event on here, we always choose a date and we always say, well, what happened on that day in history? And so I thought it would be quite fun to look at 1936. And in 1936, King George V died, which was a bit disappointing, and then he was succeeded by Edward VIII, and of course that was a bit controversial, and he abdicated the same year when George VI took over and he reigned. But the most notable event in 1936 was, um, at the birth of one Anthony Graham Edwards. An ode to Tony. There came a man from England named Tony. He was a gentleman and certainly no phony. Integrity and wit carried him a bit. Truly the nicest of men, and that's no baloney. A servant to family and friends, to students he supports with no amends. Beloved to all, the best granddad of all, we're lucky to call you our friend. Happy birthday, Tony. Good day, Tony. As your Prime Minister, I'm delighted to be here on the occasion of your 85th birthday. Uh, we never thought you'd make it this far. But you fooled us all, and we're glad. Also, I bring greetings from the Queen, who says to you 2 things. She has never met anyone as old as she is, as the longest reigning monarch, and she's loved almost as much as you are. And the other thing I would say is the Queen has granted you dual citizenship. Oh, my goodness. You're being from Wales, you're being from Wales, you've always wanted to be an Englishman, so she has granted your wish. You're now a bloody Englishman, and we're all proud. And not only are we all proud, we all love you dearly. Happy birthday to you from all of the people of England. First of all, I have to say happy birthday, Basil, and he'll know what that means. Congratulations on such a It's a great milestone. Tony is a special person in lots of ways. There's not one thing that you can really put your finger on, but he encapsulates lots of good adjectives. He's a good guy. He has a memory like an elephant. I've always admired Tony as a man of quick wit and great humor, and also a man of great patience. I think the first time that I met— how long we've known each other— I met Tony when We had the international cricket tournaments here in Charlotte, and he was kind enough and patient enough to try to teach me the rules of cricket, which he didn't do. He finally gave up and he said, look, you only need to know the one rule of cricket. And I said, well, what's that? He said, well, it's really all about tea, wine, cucumber sandwiches, scones with clotted cream and strawberry preserves, and the people. A very happy birthday I would like to remind him that as a gentleman of dignity and propriety, that he adds a little something that we need to this group every time we gather, and that I hope this will be the first of many birthdays to come. Happy birthday to you. Happy birthday to you. Happy birthday, dear Anthony. Happy birthday to you and many more. I got to know Tony through the odds, a lunch group that meets here, and life's been better because of it. He is a gentle soul, but a giant of a human being, and a compassion level that precedes his walk and his presence. And so he's just a superman. I wouldn't have doubted— I would have flown in town were I out to be here to talk about him today. So he's a wonderful person. I did try to get some George Formby and Wilfred Pickles background music to sing my happy birthday to, but there's just not any available here, Tony, and I'm so sorry. I also would say that I'm very impressed that you're still so frugal from your British background. I was really inspired to see you and Michael split a very small fish between the two of you. So it's been such a joy. I just love being your friend. Tony, uh, happy birthday. We wish you all the best. Thank you for being the, the best friend to my dad and now to us. We wish you all the best. You're 85. Tony, happy birthday. Thanks for being there throughout my life, throughout all of my brothers' lives, bringing a kind of shining light to us with dog humor, bad British jokes. We appreciate it all. We wish you the happiest of 85th birthdays. Happy birthday, Tony. The first time I met you, the first thing I noticed about you was what a great listener you are. You, when you are talking to someone, you engage them fully, and the most remarkable thing is that in subsequent, subsequent conversations, maybe months later, you actually remember parts of the conversation. And that's what I most appreciate about you, and I really enjoy And I get a chance to sit with you here at one of our gatherings of the Odd Fellows and enjoy conversation with you. Tony, I'm not going to call you an Englishman. With a name like Glynn, you know I have Welsh heritage, so I'm one of the people that recognizes that. More seriously, what comes to mind is I, every time I meet Tony and spend time, and I wish I'd spent more time, I really mean this, I aspire to be more like him. Well, Tony is a good Brit. I'm an Anglophile and a colonialist, so we hit it off over the years at various events, and in particular here at Odd Fellows. And so I have a lot of great pride in the country from whence he came and all my ancestors. So I just wish him a wonderful, wonderful day, and One of the best things that he could do with his influence is bring the Redcoats back over here and take over this country and give us some good leadership. So, uh, Tony and I have talked about that. Sir Anthony, you're on top of that, so follow through with it. Tony, happy birthday. Uh, look forward to seeing you soon. Understand you're doing well. Uh, look forward to our remembrances as we got the British American business off the ground and work together on that. But you're a dear friend and wish you all the best on your 85th birthday. So happy birthday. Happy birthday. Wonderful 85 years. Look forward to another, another 80 pumping out the good works, and cheers to that. There's a saying that sometimes you don't remember what people say, but you do remember how they feel. I always know when Tony's around that I feel special. He remembers the names of all my children. He always asks how they are, no matter who's around, no matter what he's doing. And it's always with such grace. Just so special and kind and has time and a kind word. And in this crazy world we live in, For years and years, that's always been who he is. Here's to Tony on his 85th birthday. Cheers, dear Tony! Cheers! Cheers! Happy birthday to you. Happy birthday to you. Happy birthday, dear Tony. Happy birthday to you. Cheers!
