‘The Amazing Orchanté
(Tom Orchard)
Sunday evening, 6th November 2011, at the ‘VAC (Variety Artists Club of N.Z.) Benny Awards Night’ in Auckland, New Zealand, I was honoured with one of the Major Awards; ‘THE NOSTALGIA AWARD’… The official description of this reads, ‘Awarded to acknowledge great NZ artists now retired who had not been properly recognized by the entertainment industry during the height of their careers’.
To say that I was overwhelmed would be putting it mildly. Thank you so much to all who voted for this. It was an amazing experience as they/we used ‘Skype’ to show me in my home in England, projected onto a 50ft screen at the venue in Auckland, New Zealand. Apparently the use of ‘Skype’ was a first for the VAC Benny Awards night!
Glenda, the Club Secretary, had arranged for my eldest son Jason to be there for the evening – to accept the Award on my behalf. I nearly collapsed when Tom Sharplin called him up on the stage… I almost ‘lost it’ when Jason said some rather nice words…I just wanted to reach out and give him a big hug!
It was a very, very special moment for me. A few hours later he telephoned to say what a great evening he’d had and all the different ‘Names’ who’d come up to him to chat – Max Cryer, Guy Cater, Paul Bennett, Gray Bartlett etc – all relating ‘Lurid Tales’ about his father…
I’m still overwhelmed – Thank You All
A VERY SPECIAL THANK YOU – TO YOU GLENDA, AND MY SON – JASON