Circular No 766

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

Caracas, 10 of July 2016 No. 766

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Dear Friends,

Correspondence below on thoughts for the establishment of a new institution to replace the Abbey School.

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Kazim Abasali <empowerwithart@gmail.com>

Apr 12 at 4:31 PM

Hi Joe,

We await your ideas, and your collaboration with Fr Harold. Joe, I would like to commend you on your thinking outside the box as the saying goes. And I appreciate this process that is being taken here now. And Joe, you got me to thinking along the lines you suggested. And some ideas I would like to contribute as well. However, I will await your fleshed-out plan before I share more.

God bless......

Kazim

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Father Harold Imamshah <frharold12@gmail.com>

Apr 12 at 4:22 PM

I have already done the above Nigel and now, prefer to respect the connections that Specs and Winston Ramsahai already have with the Mount. I will continue to relate with the Mount in other matters connected to the Parishes and Diocese.

Thanks, 

Fr. H

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Kazim Abasali <empowerwithart@gmail.com>

Apr 12 at 4:19 PM

Thank you Joe.

I like your trend of thought. I look forward to the meat of your idea.

God bless....

Kazim

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Father Harold Imamshah <frharold12@gmail.com>

Apr 12 at 4:18 PM

I will join you Joe in a brainstorming session.

Fr. H

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Joe <bermentmcdowald@yahoo.com>

Apr 12 at 3:56 PM

I shall be happy to, Kazim:

Thanks for asking. I flesh it out in the coming days and weeks.

Many thanks,

Joe

Joseph Berment-McDowald

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Kazim Abasali <empowerwithart@gmail.com>

Apr 12 at 3:45 PM

Hi Joe, can you kindly further elucidate?

1) I don't believe that we will ever necessarily get that and it's absence is no obstacle to action on our part.

2) "the cause of the establishment of a new institution with the same mission as the Abbey School".

It seems you agree that the Abbot may never come around, and that should be no obstacle on our part. And you are saying a new institution with the same mission as the Abbey School.

Again, let me be quite clear. I am merely asking questions here. I am not judging any one and their views. This is now a discussion forum as such. And as we discuss options we get a clearer view and paths to to take if and when consensus is arrived. For in reality, for any path to be undertaken would need support from others if it is clearly explained and thought of as possible.

Blessings to you.....Kazim

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Joe <bermentmcdowald@yahoo.com>

Apr 12 at 2:37 PM

A lot of ideas have been suggested and many open-ended statements have been made.

My specific interest is "the cause of the establishment of a new institution with the same mission as the Abbey School"

Sincerely,

JBM

Joseph Berment-McDowald

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Nigel Boos <nigelboos@gmail.com>

Apr 12 at 2:19 PM

Fr. Harold,

I propose that you, as a former monk at MSB and as a priest with good standing among the OB’s and, hopefully, with Fr. Abbot, have a clear advantage over the rest of us and as such, you might consider approaching him, on our behalf, to put a consideration before him: that there is a problem (to be clearly defined) at the Mount and that we, the old Boys of the Abbey School are seeking his approval to work with him in addressing this problem/s.

Should you have a problem with this, perhaps another of us (any volunteers?) would be willing to pick up the baton and run with it. . . . . . . . 

Would anyone like to second the motion?

N 

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Joe <bermentmcdowald@yahoo.com>

Apr 12 at 1:34 PM

I don't believe that we will ever necessarily get that and its absence is no obstacle to action on our part.

Joseph Berment-McDowald

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Nigel Boos <nigelboos@gmail.com>

Apr 12 at 1:26 PM

My opinion: We should do nothing unless we have the very explicit support and approval of Fr. Abbot, to work with us and to allow us to work with him as a team. 

NB

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Kazim Abasali <empowerwithart@gmail.com>

Apr 12 at 10:04 AM

Still, the Abbot has to be the person to want this.

So with agreement or not, sincerity of our intentions and purity of our efforts, what remains is the above underlying fact. 

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Joe <bermentmcdowald@yahoo.com>

Apr 12 at 9:19 AM

My view is that, rather than expecting others to agree with us or validate the sincerity of our intentions, we should do whatever we can under the existing circumstances and our purity of our efforts will speak for themselves.

Joseph Berment-McDowald

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Father Harold Imamshah <frharold12@gmail.com>

Apr 12 at 9:06 AM

Thanks Kazim;

I, just like you, regret that relationships and concrete suggestions with Abbot John have not met with much reciprocation.

So much time has passed and perhaps much could have been accomplished.

My own links with the Monastic community remain cordial and yet minimal and at this stage while I remain open to the future and my continued connections with the Mount, I do not foresee any major changes forthcoming.

Sincerely, 

Fr. Harold Imamshah

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On Tue, Apr 12, 2016 at 6:51 PM, Jon Golding <jon@goldings.net> wrote:y

Dear Mount Bro’s

It is important before we start cross-firing our own sincere wishes and intentions that we put this topic into the proper perspective.

I believe the major part of our old boy’s alumni that Arthur activated (and Ladislao, hats off to him, has devotedly developed over the past few decades) goes back to the 50s, 60s and fading into the 70s. We are talking about the good/bad old days when we were fortunate to be educated by a mature, stable, cohort of Dutch monks who were all survivors of World War II.

We even got some of their war stories in class.

(Monastery>) Abbot Adelbert Van Duin, Fr Prior, Bro Gabriel and (School>) Frs Bernard, Benedict, Chris, Augustine, Peter, Paul, Cuthbert, Ildefonse, Francis, and about 3 more (memory block).

Then the more local Fr Chris (Dean with bull pestle), Bros Joseph, Odo, Vincent, Rupert, Fr Eugene, etc. and of course Ms Kitty Marcus and Bro ‘Skull’ (VW rally driver!).

A very stable era of 3+ decades with a constant headcount of ca. 150 boys:- approx. 50% from South America (Venezuela, Argentina, Columbia). 

Many were from WWII immigrant families in Venezuela (from Italy, Spain, Hungary, Czechoslovakia, USA and more; memory block!) and still spoke their native language.

We had a well-diversified scattering across the Caribbean (British, Dutch & French Guyana, Grenada, Barbados, St Lucia, St Vincent, Martinique, Guadeloupe, etc). Trinis ironically were not in the majority. In retrospect, what an amazing community we lived in among the boarders; being taught by Europeans in a Carib island; Headmaster with Masters degree from Oxford University; Scout master of the highest disciplinary calibre (Fr Scroots); and local brother monks of a high standard of support. 

Wow!! No other school in the Caribbean or Latin America could even get close to this uniqueness we all shared but did not appreciate at the time! 

We did not even appreciate the unexpected visit from Fidel Castro in 1959 soon after the Cuban revolution when he popped up to the Mount, with brother Raoul, for a quick visit while his plane refuelled at Piarco on his way to Caracas!! And of course, the continued disbelief about our quiet Venezuelan young old boy who became an international terrorist at the Munich Olympics and other murders. But now serving life in a French prison, thanks to the British Secret Service snatching him from Africa.

But our core groups, from Prep B to Form 5 (7 year moving block of buddies) have substantially kept in touch thanks to Arthur and Ladislao’s voluntary alumni efforts.

So when it comes to Abbot John Pereira, Bless him, he would have been in short pants when my year graduated in 1960, if he was in the school. 

And, to be fair to him, he was never exposed to the Mount period above or the close and significant international community of monastery, school staff and students; totally diluted and gone when he came on the scene. So we old boys cannot relate to him and vice versa.  Not his fault or ours.

We are living off different memory eras which will never be shared or understood for reasons we have no control over or high levels of interest.

The mentality of our Dutch-inspired & taught groups (from 50s to 70s) is one of pure nostalgia and retrospective appreciation for the unique experiences we had at MSB.

And a fantasy wish that the school was still there and we could send our kids (or grandkids) there to have a similar growing up experience.

But it could never work today, even with all the money to fund the fantasy.

That era is non-repeatable and any resurrection of the Mount would take on an entirely different shape and meaning than any of us could envisage.

So let us leave the poor Abbot alone and simply support him in prayer and donations as we are able to.

He has been dropped in a deep empty hole and we cannot reverse anything.

He can only persevere with the continuity of whatever projects he has on his plate.

This forum is good to share ideas if we have nothing to do but blog.

But looking at the cc list above it is speck of what the alumni is and I do not believe anything would change if all of them got involved.

Let’s just carry on with the club as Knights who share goodwill under the authorship of Sir Glen.

And let’s continue to support Ladislao’s excellent e-home for us all to go to whenever we wish to recall the good/bad old days!!

Warm regards to you all and God bless Fr John Pereira!

Jon

Jon Golding

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On Apr 12, 2016, at 10:04 AM,

Kazim Abasali <empowerwithart@gmail.com> wrote:

Still, the Abbot has to be the person to want this.

So with agreement or not, sincerity of our intentions and purity of our efforts, what remains is the above underlying fact. 

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 Thank you Father Harold Imamshah <frharold12@gmail.com>

Apr 12 at 9:15 PM

Thank you Jon, 

You have put into perspective and described a beautiful past and Abbey School legacy. You have helped us understand the present Abbot's inability to appreciate a wonderful Institution which was in its last year when he joined in 1984; the very same year I had brought the CXC O'level Art Class to complete its Form 4 level and found a Teacher who would replace me and bring the boys through Form V O'level Art after I left in July 1984.

I have an interest because I gave 5 years as a monk/Teacher and saw some fruits of having been there, so, yes, it's understandable that I can maintain some interest and the present Abbot can't. I agree with you, let's move the blog into an appreciation of the years that all of you received and keep our eyes and ears open to what we can donate to, whether it's a building's upkeep or whatever might be needed currently. If Joe can help start another Institution with a unique approach to Formation, it would still be a tribute to what you just described.

To Life, to the Future, and to the Past, 

Sincerely,

Fr. Harold

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EDITED by LadislaoKertesz 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.

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Photos:

51AS0001AIRSCOUTS, by Walter Darwent

09LK0783FBTHE, Tim Healy

12DA7409DAIFB, Damian Ali

09UN001FAUGRP, Fr. Augustine and Jon Golding and Anthony Lucky