"I have had responses, but one was a vegetarian and another had no interests that I share."
Tony will be serving a traditional meal of turkey along with a matching tipple, admitting he's a bit of a "wine connoisseur".
Though he has two brothers and a sister, none live nearby and, being vulnerable to the virus because of his age he's reluctant to spend Christmas in the homes of siblings who would also be hosting their children and grandchildren.
"The top priority is safety. My sister Tessa, who lives in Suffolk, said 'you are coming here for Christmas', but she has two grown-up children and several grandchildren," he said.
"We both recognised that was a big restraint, and that's when I came up with the plan to put the cards up."
His quest to find a dinner guest comes just three months after Tony began a desperate search for a friend after being "cursed" by loneliness following his wife's death.
The retired physicist has no children and since losing Jo said he sits at home willing the phone to ring "but it never does".
His plea was a roaring success with his email inbox being flooded with offers, but sadly – none lived nearby.
"I have lost Jo, my lovely wife and soulmate," the sign read.
"I have no friends or family, no one to talk to.
"I find the unremitting silence 24 hours a day unbearable torture.
"Can no one help me?"
As well as the poster, Tony put two adverts in his local paper, but had no responses.
"Jo was my best friend and we had a lovely life. But now I'm all by myself. My wonderful wife has just died, and I have nobody," Tony explained at the time.
"All I want is for somebody to see the sign and phone me up. I just want a nice conversation so I'm not sat in silence all day long.
"I'm not looking for someone to listen to me cry – I just want a normal person who I can chat to. I can talk to anybody about anything."
Tony met Jo, a former legal secretary, in a bar 35 years ago and enjoyed a "perfect" marriage – but were sadly unable to have children. They lived together in Kempley for 25 years before recently moving to their current home last year to be closer to Jo's sister.
Shortly after they moved, Jo fell ill and lost her short battle to pancreatic cancer.
"Our relationship was always so natural. We had no secrets and we could be totally open with each other – we really were soulmates," Tony said.
"Sometimes we'd spend hours cooking, laughing and listening to music together – it was the highlight of our day.
"Now I'm here, completely alone, in the house where my lovely wife spent her dying days.
"Every time I walk in the room, the first thing I do is look at her photograph."
Reaction to Tony's plight reached people around the world, with hundreds of people offering to become his friend or penpal.
"I'd love to chat to him on the phone! No one should be alone and I applaud this gentleman for doing something positive about it," one woman wrote on Facebook.
"Not sure where you are Tony but really hope you find some company," another said.
"This is so terribly heartbreaking. Surely someone will react to the ad. The poor gentleman just wants someone to talk to," one added.
Many others described the situation as "heartbreaking".
