Circular No 767

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

Caracas, 17 of July 2016 No. 767

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Dear Friends,

I am resending an old conversation with Cornel de Freitas, interesting because it contains information on the Circulars and a special view on Brothers.

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Cornel de Freitas

12 Mar

Dear Ladislao,

(Please read all the way to the end of 'your' email to me)

{I am deliberately 'pasting' this response to your email 'inside' of the one from Nigel, Re:"SENIOR MOMENT', so I could point out the ones you could use with my other my photographs.}

I am so sorry that I may have expressed myself incorrectly when inquiring why you didn't 'Publish' all of the photographs at the same time.

I do understand that this - what you are doing - takes up a lot of your time and at the same time, takes away from 'family' time.

I need you to know, as I can probably assure you, that I am not the only one that greatly appreciates what you do for us.

When you first made contact with me, It opened up memories, and in a way gave me new 'life' to be able to be reconnected with those brothers at the Abbey School, that played a very important part of my life  They were 'my brothers' and I do 'miss' them.

Getting back to your email: (please see my responses embedded - "por supuesto".... did I get that right...?  )

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Date: Wed, 11 Mar 2009 23:29:17 -0400

Subject: Re: Where are the Circulars ...

From: kertesz11@gmail.com

Dear Cornel,

The pictures are with me or at least I believe that they are, as I have not opened the February emails.

[You are obviously very busy, so I can understand the backlog.]

I try to mix the photos to keep the old old and the recent ALUMNI interested. So I publish four per issue to keep the Circulars alive

I did not know about this before, but I can see your reasoning.

I have your letters in Circular No.389 also at least two photos.

Since I regard the Circular as a leisure stress free work, I take longer than some of you would like me to be. I get a little frustrated after being over 8 hour in front of the computer at work, as I do this between supper and going to bed, sometimes my eyes hurt at seeing the screen.

This is a 'good' thing then, I myself enjoy being able to sit down and spend my time sending out emails to my MSB brothers, instead of looking at TV.

I find it relaxing and there is usually a 'return on the investment of time' - which is the response.

My idea of the Circulars is to gather ALUMNI and give them food of thought and be reunited with long lost friends. I started issue No. 1 with 10 ALUMNI and we are now with a few more than the number of Circulars published, I am sure Nigel agrees with the numbers.

Absolutely astounding...!

I have about ten Circulars ready in draft format. So some news might wait for at least three months before published.

I only publish life or death news immediately. Sorry, that I have not reached to your photos as yet.

It does seem to take a long time, but when you take the amount of info you have to deal with I can understand why.

Please think that the Circulars need material, but if I use all materials as soon as they get to me then there would be times when I cannot publish the weekly Circular for lack of material.

Exactly what kind of 'material'?...do you mean photographs?

This is the only reason that the Circulars are still being published while other have failed. Old news remains old even if published as soon as I get it.  I place importance on keeping a regular mailing system, to keep the MSB memories alive..

An example, those that wrote us five years ago quite long essays, have not been heard ever since, they do not have even an updated photo to share for us to know if they are alive.

Usually I hear from their friends after they pass away, this has happened in over a dozen of cases.

This is sad, am I to understand that shorter messages and an accompanying photo help?  I am hoping that of the group of my form V class, most are still alive and doing well.

At this time I also hope Richard Anderson, whom I haven't heard from since I did send an email/letter, is doing well and his family.  Is he currently living in Florida, and Stephen is still in Trinidad?

I have no excuse but please bear with me, and hope this is not going to keep you from writing.

Oh yes, You do!  This what you are doing is quite an undertaking, I cannot imagine how much time you have devoted to this amazing gift to all of us MSB boys  ....Thank you so very much.

Because of you, I was able to re-connect with Terrence Fereira, one of my class mates, contact and call Nigel, visit with him, organize an evening and even include the wives, reminisce about old times, laugh a lot, even eat a delicious 'Roti' and drink a real Carib beer, and I had the astounding privilege of introducing my son and my two grandsons whom I am so very proud of, thanks to you...!

Have a look at those pictures again and see the look on our faces.

What do you see, and this got started with a simple message from Nigel, that one of my classmates was coming up. 

He said, how about we get together and have a "Roti", and our tiny "ROTILICIOUS" mini-reunion was born.

Had it not been for you telling me that an MSB old boy was living near to me and gave me his telephone number. ---

"MUCHISIMAS GRACIAS CABALLERO!"

This all happened thanks to you!

Am I grateful - you bet your ass I am!

But you can always be sure that I answer all emails, sooner or later.

I extended my reply because those of the 1950s claim that I do not take care of them, it is difficult to cover 40 years in each Circular.

God Bless

Ladislao

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Ladislao,

I need you to know, that all of your efforts are greatly appreciated, how does that little phrase go again?

"You can please some of the people some of the time, but you can never please all of the people all of the time..."

Thank you sincerely for your great work,

GOD bless you and your loved ones, and reward you for all the lost time with them, they, I am sure, understand and must love you a lot for your devotion.

Cornel de Freitas..

P. S.:

Just so you know, I am using the colour purple in honour of the really great Brother I lost recently.  Carlos and I were closer than I even imagined, I realized how close now that he is gone.

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2009/3/10

Cornel de Freitas <corneldefreitas@hotmail.com>

Hello again Ladislao,

Got your email, I saw the picture of me as a boy sitting on the playing field, but you did not publish the 'string' of pictures, any particular reason why?

I thought they would give a perception of my growing 'older' and what I look like now.

I am also aware that Nigel sent you the pictures of the 'Mini-reunion' we had up here.

I was a really great evening that just happened with a few suggestions.

I have already written to you about that evening, but it is also my hope that the others in attendance would take a minute and write a few words of their perception of that really nice get together. 

The photographs of that same evening that shows me, my son Michael, and his two boys, my two angels, could also be included.

Let me know what you think.

GOD bless you and yours,

Cornel ... ...

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From: nigel@adcam.ca

Date: Tue, 24 Feb 2009 07:38:50 -0500

Hi Terrence,

I'm afraid that I really made a boo-boo when I sent out my first report on "Roti Night" by referring to you as 'Trevor'. Please forgive me - as Egan suggested, I must have had a 'Senior Moment'. Cornel, Egan and you too have asked me to correct the report.

I have now had the time to edit the report, such as it was, and to use your name as your parents and not I, wanted, and I've attached this hereto, for your records.

It was really great seeing all you guys again, and how marvellous that, in spite of the fact that some of us had never met the others, we were able to instantly connect and share our common memories. 

I look forward to another visit from you in the future.

Don't forget - Lent starts tomorrow. 

God bless you.

Nigel

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Well, Roti Night has come and gone and we're left with some beautiful memories of friendships formed and associations re-made.

Terrence Ferreira had come in from New Jersey to visit his mother and we decided to get together to meet other OB's, even though we might have come from different MSB "eras", to share a roti and a Carib together.

And so it was that Terrence (59-65), Egan Baichoo (59-60), Cornel de Freitas (60-65), Carlos Guio (74-79), Hudson McKoy (69-74) and myself (55-60) met at Rotilicious. Cornel brought along his son Michael and his two grandsons, Lorenzo and Christian. We also were privileged to have our wives, Maureen Baichoo, Linda McKoy and my wife, Jackie, with us. 

It turns out that Carlos and his brother, Luis, were the last two Venezuelans to attend school at the Mount.

Apart from the fact that the roti was wonderful, we were given a special treat when Terrence revealed his treasure box of memorabilia, containing masses of sports and athletic medals, his scout uniform, bushman's thong, scout belt, scarf, and badges including the treasured and now seldom seen Queen's Scout Badge.  Terrence seems to have been quite an athlete and sportsman, and, as I understand, he was also the Captain of the Football and Cricket teams.

And therein lays a story.

Apparently, the Abbey School was in the habit, as we know, of regularly challenging St. Stanislaus College in Guyana to a number of sporting events, and, from what I hear, we seldom, if ever, won at football.

Apparently, Terrence's dad, Mr. Ferreira, had always said that the Abbey School would never win until a Ferreira led the team.

And so said, so done.

After his death, a neatly filed collection of newspaper reports was found among Mr. Ferreira's belongings, and Terrence presented these to us during our 'Roti Night'.

He asked me to hold onto his medals, paraphernalia and reports, and it just might be that these would be nice to have in any proposed Abbey School Old Boy Museum at MSB.

I have these items in my keeping now, and would be willing to hand them over to someone responsible, once the Museum idea is further developed. 

Thanks, everyone, for coming along.

Enjoy the pix.

Nigel

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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:

15LK5694FBEDIMSB, Bells in the new tower

14LK5566FBFODIFA, Fr. Odo and Isaias Farcheg

16LK2161LKEGTO, Ladislao Kertesz and Gustavo Tar

10DV0369FBDDVWFE, David de Verteuil and wife

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