Circular No 743

Newsletter for alumni of The Abbey School, Mt. St. Benedict, Trinidad and Tobago, W.I.

Caracas, 30 of January 2016 No. 743

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Dear Friends,

Here is the last issue of January 2016, I having been away travelling through Venezuela, trying to get a feel of what is left of this beautiful country.

This is why I could not write to you before.

The news is sad, you can see that the poverty has set in, as a day to day matter, with long lines queuing up for daily needs, shut down factories and businesses.

People dress sparely, just the minimum for decency.

Law and order is slipping away into chaos. God help us

-----------------------------------------------------------------------.

Tim

Many thanks to all and yes Kazim as and when you have the time it will be a very good idea to have the database on-line for as long as “old” MSB members are interested.

Like life, it will only be a matter of time when all is forgotten and confined to the archives.

Sorry, did not mean to be depressing, but we are getting older and our MSB School does not exist anymore, however in the meantime we can still reminisce to our hearts & minds content.

Cheers Tim.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------.

On Sat, Jan 2, 2016 at 8:37 AM,

Don Mitchell <idmitch@anguillanet.com> wrote:

Hello, Tim,

How good to hear from you!

Happy New Year to you and yours too.

The present keeper of the original database is Kazim, who is copied.

He could perhaps consider in what way he could make it more accessible to us.

I am sure there are privacy and other sensitive issues connected with simply putting it online, which would not be technically difficult for someone of his abilities.

But, it should be no problem at all to send a copy to those Old Boys who express an interest. I am sending you my outdated copy now.

It is 4.3 MB, so I hope you get it.

If not, I’ll put it in my dropbox account, if you are accustomed to accessing documents by this means.

I have every copy of the database that Nigel ever circulated, starting in February 2008 and ending with this last one of his of January 2015.

Keep well through the New Year, and hopefully we can fight off the old spoiler for a little while longer.

Don

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------.

From: Timothy Mew MHC

Sent: Friday, January 1, 2016 9:34 PM

Hi, Don & Ladislao,

First of all we wish you both and your families a Very Happy 2016.

Do you still have the excel spread sheet with the years and students from MSB, I think it may be now not updated any more, but I have a friend who is interested to have a look at the previous one.

So if available please just send down the link for us.

Thanks, Tim

PS: Your good work with MSB is not unnoticed and is much appreciated.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------.

Kazim Abasali [mailto:empowerwithart@gmail.com]

Sent: Saturday, January 02, 2016 6:59 PM

Don and Tim,

Yes, I thought of putting the database online on our website with access only by members with a password.

This I have already done with another Alumni website.

So, I will work on it this year early as I am in the thick of things project-wise right now.

Blessed New Year to you all and your families......

Kazim

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------.

Father Harold Imamshah <frharold12@gmail.com>

Jan 26 at 8:32 PM

Dear Nigel, 

My sincere sympathy at this very difficult time of the deaths of both your dear mother and sister. 

I will offer my 6pm Mass tomorrow at the Church of the Nativity in Crystal Stream in Diego Martin.

I got your sister Jennifer's name, but what is your dear Mother's name?

God bless

Fr. Harold Imamshah

Servant of Mary for Jesus

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------.

Kazim Abalasi<empowerwithart@gmail.com>

Jan 26 at 7:05 PM

Just to let you Guys know, that it is Peter Tang who informed me of Vernon's wife and Nigel's sister passing.

And he asked me to share with the Boys. I am sorry for not including you in the original email Peter.

Blessings to all.

Kaz

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------.

Abasali <empowerwithart@gmail.com>

Jan 26 at 6:57 PM

Wow, Nigel,

I am so sorry.

I did not even know your dear loving Mom passed on.

Forgive me.

Kindly accept my sincere condolences again.

May your dear Mother rest in peace. ......

Kaz

----------------------------------------------------------------------------.

mailto:%C2%A0Nigel%20Boos%20%3cnigelboos@gmail.com%3e

Jan 26 at 2:17 PM

Thank you, Kazim, for your welcome words of condolence.

Losing a mother and a sister with seven weeks has been a very difficult blow.

I appreciate your kind expression of sympathy.

Sincerely,

Nigel

-----------------------------------------------------------------------.

Don Mitchmailto:ell%20%3cidmitch@anguillanet.com%3e

Jan 26 at 1:00 PM

How absolutely awful. 

I was so sad to hear this news after all she went through.

I hope Vernon and Nigel and their families can find the strength to endure and the courage to let time have its softening effect. 

Only time heals all wounds.

Please accept Maggie’s and my sincere condolences,

Don

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------.

mailto:%C2%A0Kazim%20%3cempowerwithart@gmail.com%3e

Jan 26 at 12:48 PM

Vernon and Nigel we offer our deepest condolences to you and your families on the passing of Jennifer (who is the wife of Vernon De Lima and the sister of Nigel Boos).

May she rest in peace.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------.

I am annexing a message from: "R. d'Abadie Consulting Services"

roland@on.aibn.com

Date: Tue, 15 Oct 2002 11:40:16 -0400

Ladislao,

Michael Howard, one of my many cousins who attended "The Abbey School", was good enough to recently send me some info. about the Mount and now I must thank you for placing my name on the mailing list and bringing back many faded memories of days long past.

The Mount has many memories for me although I was only there for a few short years and left prior to graduation.

My younger brother Bernard attended after I left, my sister worked with the addicts that used our old dorms after the school was closed and my Dad died at the old age home.

The de Verteuils featured in the "recent photo's" are cousins and living here in Canada, and Richard and Randall Galt were also classmates of mine, just to name a few.

The student list also reminded me of many names and memories that were tucked away in my memory bank.

While looking through the recent photos, I also came across one of Pedro Castro, one of the three Castro brothers who were there during my day.

Do you have any news of Timieno? 

He was a good friend and classmate. 

The last I heard, several years ago, was that he was living in Caracas.

I could go on forever but this is a starting point.

Having left Trinidad in 1960 for Jamaica and then moving to Canada, trips to Trinidad have not been frequent and crossing paths with old friends, much too infrequent.

Unfortunately, I have no photos to share of my days at the Mount but many pleasant memories.

Playing soccer, cricket, volley ball, boy scouts "squirrel patrol" singing in the choir etc. 

Thanks for the memories and yes I received circular No. 48 this morning.

All the best 

Roland d'Abadie

Toronto, Canada

-------------------------------------------------------------------------

From: "Costelloe, Dion"

Date: Mon, 23 Sep 2002 08:56:52 -0400

Sean lives in Toronto, Canada, and Brian is in St. Augustine , Trinidad.

Neither would have an E-mail address but their wives, children would.

Sean's wife is Hillary, child is Brenna.

Brian's wife is Charlene, child is Sarah.

Perhaps you could find them with a search.

Dion Costelloe

Dion.Costelloe@ispat.com

Can anyone help???  Those living in St. Augustine????

Maybe Jerry Bain can help in Toronto???

----------------------------------------------------------------------------

And now:             MASS:

Again I am writing about another regular event that happened at the Mount:

In this one I wanted to recall our everyday going to Mass at 6:15 am.

The chapel was next to the small boy’s dormitory and on the other side the staircase going down to the playhall, where we had pictures, 16mm pictures, every Saturday night.

What can I say, this can be called a routine, for some of you the memories might recall happiness but for the majority it was no fun.

The bench prefects had to keep their charge awake, no head was allowed to touch the bench top and the kneeling had to be straight, no backside was allowed to touch the seat.

This drill, which some objected, did make us what we are today, I do not regret it.

In my case I was one of those that preferred study to Mass, I always had something to write or read, mostly unfinished homework.

From the time I entered MSB, Prep A ( I entered MSB on Sept. 1955) to Form III (1957) the routine was of going to Mass as soon as we woke up, before breakfast.

The Mass lasted exactly 37 minutes!!!, joking, but there were favourite priests who took about 30 minutes and those not so favourite that took 45 minutes.

No matter those with a watch always found that the time crawled.

Naturally I am talking as a personal experience and the looks on the faces of those that kneeled around my location.

Piece of wood plank was the surface for kneeling; not the soft kneeling stools of nowadays.

But I enjoyed the Latin of them days to the local language now days and the Gregorian singing to the rock and whatever and wherever is done today.

Maybe someone would like to add to this!!!.

Ladislao

------------------------------------------

EDITED by Ladislao Kertesz kertesz11@yahoo.com, 

For information, and if you would like to be in the circular’s mailing list or any old boy that you would like to be included.

----------------------------------------------

Photos:

Bandit p76x p77 The Early Times

16LK0002LKEGRP, Brian Goddard, Ladislao Kertesz and Roderick Smith

16LK0001BGO, Brian Goddard

16LK0001RSM, Roderick Smith

Circular No 742

Newsletter for alumni of The Abbey School, Mt. St. Benedict, Trinidad and Tobago, W.I.

Caracas, 23 of January 2016 No. 742

----------------------------------------------------------------------------

Dear Friends,

Introducing Richard Arrindell

----------------------------------------

My name is Richard Arrindell and I am a Vietnam veteran.

I was a US Marine in Da Nang. 

I would say I’m from either Forest Reserve or San Fernando.

But I’m definitely a South boy.

I went to St Peter’s, Forrest Reserve and Pointe-a-Pierre, Mt St Benedict, RC Boys’ Catholic and St Benedict’s College, La Romaine.

In none of which I learned a bloody thing!

I listen to pretty much any type of music except Trinidadian music.

I think music lost its way after calypso.

But that could just be my age.

After my GCEs, my mother sent me to Los Angeles, where her brother lived.

I said, “I gotta do something!”

And that something was to join the Marine Corps.

I was a kid and had swallowed whole all the John Wayne propaganda out of Hollywood but going through boot camp made me aware of the other side of being a soldier.

I read a lot online, but mostly short essays, not a book or anything.

Either my attention span is shrinking or…actually, it has to be that.

In the seventh week of boot camp, I got an infected blister and spent two weeks in hospital, where I found out what trainees had to do, say, 1,000 pushups a day, 1,000 squat jumps, run three miles, whatever.

They had been telling us, “Everybody do 100 pushups as punishment for Arrindell f***ing up!” It wasn’t punishment.

We were supposed to do it anyway, but they made it punishment, to break our spirit.

To drive us into being soldiers.

At graduation, my drill instructor said, “Arrindell, you are the most disrespectful human being I’ve ever had to deal with!”

And I said to myself, “Thank God: I survived!”

I tried to avoid watching them but I’m pretty sure I’ve seen most of the Vietnam movies.

I couldn’t imagine them depicting it right.

I was in Vietnam for a year, the normal rotation, in Da Nang with the Third Marine Division, Third Battalion, Third Platoon.

I wasn’t given the option of being an infantryman or a mechanic and there was no choice there. Hey! I want to live! I became a mechanic.

My total experience of combat occurred when our engineering company took a lot of scrap lumber out to the village.

Everybody rushed the truck and a female with a baby in her arms got pushed aside.

Screaming, she grabbed her breast and squeezed this thick arc of milk 30 feet in the air. She sprayed an arc 50 feet wide.

Like all traumatic occasions, this one seemed to take place in slow motion.

Eyes popped open, mouths dropped, everybody stood still.

And she calmly walked up, chose what lumber she wanted, and left.

She did put her breast back, though.

I never met another Trinidadian in Vietnam.

There were quite a few in LA but I had decided to immerse myself in the American culture.

When I left Trinidad, if you wanted sex, you would have to be married.

In LA, it was the beginning of the Sexual Revolution.

One of the major attractions of America for me was that I was going to get laid.

I worked as a photographer in LA. The GI Bill took care of my living expenses and a Californian veteran scholarship my tuition for three years at Art Centre College of Design.

After graduation all of my peers were in positions to give me work.

So, for the next 15 years, I did very well.

When my connections started moving on, I decided not to beat my head against it, but to go sailing.

The idea was to get to Trinidad for Carnival.

The Rodney King episode made me want to get back to the freedom I remembered in Trinidad.

Whether it’s lawless freedom or not, it’s still freedom!

America may be the home of the brave but it ain’t the land of the free!

I was burglarised in LA and, because I had some parking tickets, when the police came to my house, they arrested me!

Instead of taking the information on the burglary, they took me to jail!

I was missing the green of Trinidad.

Everything was so brown and dry in LA!

Towards the end of my time there, I was thinking, “You know, I might stay, if it would only rain!”

A Trini is a person with a circle of friends of a hundred people. In LA, you know three or four people.

To me, Trinidad and Tobago means a lot of mountains and trees around me.

And freedom from a police state.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------.

Who The Firetruck Is BC Pires Anyway?

All human experience is circular and the extremes are sometimes indistinguishable: you laugh until you cry; you hate the one you love; even pain can feel good. BC Pires, practising newspaper columnist and qualified lawyer, lives at that nexus of human experience where a tilt of the head tells the difference between joy and despair.

Like most of us in the super-stressed modern world, Pires spends most days overwhelmed by something or the other: the divisive racial politics of his home, Trinidad; the filling out of income tax returns; the impeachment of President Clinton's genital; the collapse of the West Indies cricket team; or his baby daughter, the Banana. The difference between us and him, though, is that, twice a week, in one column called Thank God It's Friday (for the Trinidad Express) and another called Hell of a Weekend (for the Trinidad Weekend Independent), Pires confronts his (and our) terrors with words that make us scream with laughter and roar with pain.

Pires was born on 2 June 1958 and went to Catholic schools all his life, notably St Mary's College, Port of Spain, where he took five years to gain a single Ordinary Level GCE pass-a one, the highest grade, in English Language. It took much longer to break free of Catholic guilt. (He now holds ten O'levels, two A'levels, an LLB and an LEC and spends a good deal of time and space campaigning against the dehumanizing elements of organized religion.) He belongs to no clubs (other than the Law and Media Associations of Trinidad and Tobago, the Law Society of England and the Queen's Park Cricket Club) or political parties and plays no team sports. He also writes for the London Guardian and covered the West Indian games of the 1999 Cricket World Cup in England for them.

Some people spend their lives struggling with the major philosophical questions humanity has faced from the beginning of time; BC Pires has spent his life simply struggling - and it translates into belly-laughs and stomach turning for us every week. If you find that you like his stuff, you are certainly intelligent, probably well-read and may well spend far too much time watching rain fall when you could be doing something important.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------.

From: "Jerry Bain" <jerry.bain@sympatico.ca>

Date: Sat, 11 Jan 2003 18:21:53 -0500

Hi guys,

Well, what a lovely surprise to open my e-mail and find a picture of myself in your archives (Class of 1966, third on the right of Mr Tyrell, back row).

I'm Jerry Bain, # 80 (it would really be nice to know how many people remember their numbers).

My fondest memory of the Mount, was trying not to get a green soft drink after school, that special toast bread we had at breakfast, a teacher we called "Toots", the Serrano brothers, (Small World 1 & 2 ), remember " Box head" ?.

I think I had one of the best teachers of the time, Mr. Ernie Tyrell, you know, I can still sign his initials.

I also remember that mango tree that used to look like a Christmas tree at night from all the cigarette smokers in the tree.

And Joan who worked in the kitchen (smile), the "siphon" gang.

St. Francis short pants with a white long sleeve shirt, (collar had to be up, shirt open 3 buttons).

I've been living in Canada for the last 30 years now, married to Debbie, 2 daughters and a son.

As a matter of fact, those interested can check out my web site, just enter "Trinidad and Tobago in Canada" (preferably on Yahoo ) and there you'll get the rest of the story.

Anyone know the whereabouts of Herman Vercrissen #77 (Aruba), Cornel De Freitas, David Narine, Leon Alves or Bobby Wharton? Drop me a line if you're still out there guys.

Regards to all,

Jerry Bain.

-------------------------------------------------------------------

From the above I perceive that a good number of the guys mentioned were from Fatima but some were from MSB. I included this resume as I am sure that some of you must have been in the same class as Bain, either at MSB or at Fatima.

Please give me a line if you know Bain and those that he mentions.

I have enclosed a photo so that you may recognize him when in Canada!!!

<<<<<<COMMENCEMENT WEEK AT SCHOOL:

This was a rough week for all the new comers; remember that school year started in January in our times. (I believe that this was changed to September in 1963). We were given the books, notebooks etc. from the Bursar and the classroom assignment.

The first reunion was in the Study Hall, Form I classroom, where we were assigned our desks for the whole year. Form I was in front and then came Form II and so on to From V at the back. This is where we kept the books and all our study material, etc. Seating assignment was according to a list prepared by the authorities (knowledgeable priests) with the idea of controlling the kids.

But in our individual classrooms there was no pre assigned listing, so everyone stalked out the DESK!!! The window seat. The seat close to the door, the seat at the rear, until our teachers called for students to occupy the empty front row, which was usually empty during the first day of the class of the year. Those front seats being important to a special group, while the back seats belonged to the more leisure group that were not too keen to be in the sight of the teacher.  In the middle were the rest, or because there were no more back seats!!

Remember the meeting of old friends and finding out who were the new ones and those that did not make it (the whys and where they when) rumours, then the talk of the just passed holidays, trips, etc?

Of course, those that had to take an airplane to get to the school had a more agitated time not because of the trip but because you did not want to forget anything, clothe, sweets, presents, toys, new pens (Parker ball points).

God Bless

Ladislao

--------------------------------------------------------------------.

“The education of a Trini” – By Jerry Bain

It all started at Miss Smith's private School on Charles St. in Port of Spain at the tender age of four.

From then it was on to Miss Sylvester's in Diego Martin and then Mr. Roberts in Woodbrook.

Then I hit the big time, it was up to The Abbey School at Mt. St. Benedict with fellas like Robert Elias (Mighty Trini), Leon Alves, the Serrano Brothers (Small World 1 and 2) and the best track and field coach at the time, P.G. Wilson.

After four years at "The Prison on the Hill", as we called it,

I was transferred to Fatima College to finish my schooling.

Now, that was memories, liming by Mr. Williams' Parlour, fellas like Peter Geoffrey, Denis Niles, Garth Wills, Heyden Duprey (our goalie) and of course, that was the year we 'drafted' Everad Cummings to play "intercol" for us.

After completing three years at Fatima, I had to put in my "free labour" at the family owned business on Edward Street.

This is where I learnt what hard work is all about.

We had a great bunch of electricians there, Desmond St. Hill, Glen Loney to name a few.

Next door was Russ Archer Photo Studio.

Right across the road was Carl Baker, the tailor, and next door lived "the Taylors" who were bakers.... What a MIXED UP WORLD!

Anyway, the old man decided to send me off to Canada to study electronics, just about three months after becoming engaged (Surprise !!!) you could see that coming.

So it was two years at Radio College of Canada where I learnt how to repair television with tubes in it!

I'm still living in Canada now, still trying to figure what happened to all the tubes ?

                                'Special Memories'

The guys I used to race with at Wallerfield on Sundays... Pernell "Pee Wee" Welsh, Sidney Manhim, Silborn Clarke, Michael Munes, Ralph Thom, "Eggie" Gonzales, to name a few.

My liming buddies, Louis Hurdle, "Patches", Derick and Alan Viera, "Doodie" from Maracas. Ellingtonn "Jiggs" Griffith, Carlton Ahyee, Errol Rennie, Andre Penco.

If any of you guys are still out there, DROP ME A LINE !

SPECIAL THANKS to my wife, Debbie, my two beautiful daughters, Alannah and Jenna and my son Jason.

--------------------------------------------------------------

EDITED by Ladislao Kertesz

Send information to: kertesz11@yahoo.com, if you would like to be in the circular’s mailing list or any old boy that you would like to include.

--------------------------------------------------------------

Photos:

Bandit p74x p75 The Early Times

16LK0001DMI, Daniel Michieli doctor from Puerto La Cruz

15LK0003RAR, Richard Arrindell

14BC6787BCPFAM, BC Pires Family