Circular No 772

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

Caracas, 20 of August 2016 No. 772

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Dear Friends,

I am sending you some of the old emails from over 13 years ago.

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Ladislao,

Talking about Father Eugene, one day I fell down in the pole vault pit and broke my wrist.

I always smile when I see the new air filled landing pads the current athletes use for pole vaulting, our pole vault pit was sawdust and as hard as concrete, both bones just above the wrist were broken  [confirmed later by X-ray and a cast which I had to endure for 6 weeks]

Scruts sent me up to the dorm, it was Saturday so no nurse, when I got to the dorm, I was met with the astonishing sight of Eugene doing pull ups on the first cubicle next to his room in his shorts.

That night after I told the boys about it, Edward Lloyd, Steve, Maline Smith and Cow Spray [anyone remember cow spray's real name?] mobilised the boys who waited until Eugene was about to make his last round, and they started doing pull ups on their cubicles, forcing a clearly embarrassed Eugene to flee and seek refuge in his room.

As far as the colour of the cubicle was concerned, I was never invited to choose the colour of MY cubicle, and if the place was still functional I would sue.

Does anyone else remember picking the colour of their cubicle?

As I recall, all were painted this really sick cream colour.

The cubicle next to mine was occupied by the French boy Piton, does anyone remember him?

My job was to help him with his English since he did not speak one word of the language,

Piton had one wrangler Jeans which he wore everyday for the entire term, and he did not have to hang up those jeans, it stood up by itself when he took it off.

My cubicle was close to the toilet, it was on the side of the dorm which faced the mountain, from my cubicle, on most nights the toilet looked like it was on fire, and there was that much smoke coming out of it.

The amount of cigarettes we threw in the toilets at the Mount killed all the bacteria in the septic tanks and caused an environmental hazard.

The poetic justice of it all was that it was that we who caused that incredible stench in the first place, were forced to breathe it in day and night.

Tony Vieira

P.S. Ladislao, I have spoken to the men here about the airport matter, our international flights are all controlled by US based companies and there are few if any Guyanese pilots who would benefit from such an exercise. I am still looking into it.

I bought a P4 computer and in the process of transferring all of the data to the new computer from the old hard drive the idiot technician erased all of my e-mails, so please send me the link to your site again,

I had to wait for you to email me with the new circular before I could tell you about it since I have lost all emails and addresses.

I have decided to run in the 2006 Presidential elections,

I announced it last week check www.tonyvguy.com commentary UF, I have taken over the United Force Political party and even if I don't get the presidency [I don't think I can anyway] I will, with the other small parties control the parliament and hold the balance of power in the country.

T.V.

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From: "JonGolding" <jongolding@wow.net>

Subject: Relocated to Trinidad

Date: Tue, 4 Feb 2003 20:43:31 -0500

Hi Ladislao,

Please pass this on to all the guys who left around 1960 and 1961.

My brother Geoffrey was in class with you, the Galts, David Pampellone, Michael Herrera, Manuel Prada, Louis Lacour, Bernard Johnson, Chris Knowles, Matias de Fedak, Wayne Vincent Brown, Roger Henderson, etc.

My class had Pablo Figuera, Roberto Savignon, Robert Elias, Tilson Tang, Peter Gibson, Christian Goddard (at one time), Richard Farah, Stuart Monplaisir, and many others.

Have you heard from all of these people? What news of the Figueras and of the Savignons?

I am now resettled back in Trinidad after 37 years in Europe, America, Middle East, India, and a few other places, running the Private Banking Division of RBTT Financial Holdings, the biggest banking group in the Caribbean.

It's really a great life here relating to my roots which no-one overseas could really understand and I was blessed to get this job - helped with references from some of the names I have mentioned. The Old Boys Network really does work!!

I have met some of the guys back here but not had a chance to go up the hill yet. Do you know if Voosh still has some of the many photos he took while we were there? I am thinking of going up with a laptop and a scanner to capture some of these from him. What do you think?

Best wishes

Jon Golding

PS What is Louis Lacour's email address?

Maybe someone could help??

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From: Gillian O'Connor <gilleary@hotmail.com

Date: Fri, 20 Dec 2002 16:01:35 +0800

Subject: The early years

Thanks for your email.

Yes, I know Arthur well and spent some time with him and his family in Darmouth a few years ago (before we were both grandparents). Although we have his residential address, we do not have an up-to-date email address (av_knaggs@hotmail.com ) for him so would be grateful if you will send this to us if you have it.

My records indicate that I was at Mount from May 45 to December 53.

I was the youngest boy in the school when I got there but there was only one class.

From your note Arthur says he was there from 44 to 49 but my brother Richard and I were there before Arthur hit the scene so either my Mount records are wrong or Arthur's dates are wrong.

There was no way that Arthur (Scroongie) could have sneaked into the school without us noticing!.

I will sort out the dates when I contact Arthur.

Phase 2 of someone's letter on your circulars describes the refectory scene of those early years but the writer's name was not attached and I must have missed part 1.

Richard and I were there before the Priory became an Abbey and before the construction of the College and Church and the school consisted of about 13 boys which gradually increased over time.

Fr Indefonse started the Second Mount St Benedict Scout Troop.

Arthur was the Patrol Leader from the early days.

That era holds many great memories for me.

Many years later, Father Leo started the Third Mt St Benedict Air Scouts but I think that was towards the end of my time there and I was not  involved.

I completed my School Certificate in December of 51 and stayed two more years to do Higher Certificate so finally left Mount in Dec 53.

I went to work in the Oilfields and stayed in this industry throughout my working life both in Trinidad and in Australia.

I married in 1959, had 5 children, immigrated to Australia in 1967 and now have 15 Aussi grandchildren.

I retired in 1994 and have been busier than ever since.

Our last visit to Mount was in Jan 1999 and was fortunate to meet with Fr Indefonse who was then wheelchair bound.

He did not recognize my name when told that I was there to visit him but as soon as he saw me he called me by my nickname, PeeWee.

He died not too long after this.

I enjoy reading all the comments from other past students.

Keep up the good work.

Hope Christmas goes well for and your present civil unrest will sort itself out soon.

All the best for the New Year.

God bless and a Happy Christmas to you and your family.

Regards,

Leary O'Connor

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From: Gillian O'Connor <gilleary@hotmail.com>

Date: Fri, 20 Dec 2002 16:01:35 +0800

Subject: The early years

Just received your circular with the May letter I wrote to you.

Needless to say Richard and Leary do not seem to have progressed very much further with the names.

For many years Arthur Knaggs used to write a newsletter for the Old Boys and it was always interesting with various anecdotes.

He lives in Canada and his address is 2 Dubonnet Drive, Dartmouth, Nova Scotia B2X 2V3, phone no. (902) 435.0909.

We used to have his email but recently the mail comes back so I'll not put that.

Maybe someone might know his email address and he would probably be a fount of information for you.

The school and dormitory were built around 1944 while I was at school there.

During the war the US commander of Wallerfield base had three sons called Tom, Dick and Harry who went to Mt. St. Benedict until the end of the war.

The pictures of the new college building (at that time) were taken by the father in a small prop plane as one could not get normal level pictures because of the slopes and buildings being at the top of the hill.

Many years later (around 1955/6) I worked in Venezuela and I was in Caracas having a drink in a bar and sat next to a guy who said he had been to Mt. St. Benedict and he was an American, so I asked him if he was Tom, Dick or Harry and he replied that he was Harry and that he was flying an executive jet for one of the oil companies.

That's all for now.

Richard

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THE EDITOR

From the above you can have a notion on the date the school opened and when the school was built.

Only with e-mails like these we can enrich the archives that the Circulars may become for some future historian?

So please do not be stingy with your writing and collaborate so that other might enjoy your experience at Mount.

The mentioned Part 1 and Part 2 of a Circular were written by me.

These I write because there seems to be very little in the way of articles and memory on the daily routines.

These are taken for granted by many as we moved by the clock, some even as zombies.

I am sorry that our in-house literate, Wayne Vincent Brown, has not sent any more of his articles.

I hope he is well and preparing a Scouting story or something on his Mount experiences.

Regards

Ladislao

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EDITED by Ladislao Kertesz,  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:

06NC0002NCHGRP, Neil Charles and group

14LK2271FBFAU, Fr. Augustine

80RL0010RLEGRP, Raul Leoni´s marriage, wife and mother

03DM0015DMIFAU, Don Mitchel and Fr. Augustine

Circular No 771

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

Caracas, 13 of August 2016 No. 771

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Dear Friends,

Relax and listen to Glen Evelyn playing the electronic guitar.

Is the guitar one of his design??  Most probably.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WfLRoI_-o7o,

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ANTONI MICKIEWICZ <amickiew@att.net>

To  Nigel Boos Kazim Abasali Ladislao Kertesz Glen Mckoy Don Mitchell CBE QC

Jul 30 at 12:39 PM

Hi Brothers....Came across this article on the web.....but...George Austin is not in the current MSB database.  Looks like he may have attended toward the later years.  The initiation practice that he refers to was certainly not from my days ....1956 to 1962.....Bobo, Rughead, et al, would have "killed" us for this practice......Enjoy the weekend, George

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Published:  Monday, June 22, 2015

My name is George Austin and I sell fresh roses and gift baskets on the roadside twice a year. 

I’m from Arima. I living there 30-something years. And I reach quite West Mall twice a year, every year: before Mother’s Day and before Valentine’s Day. 

I grew up in Diego Martin, Sierra Leone Rd. Must get sting by jep in Blue Basin. I had a chopper bicycle and, when rain falling—those days, they didn’t have the highway—I’d head up through St Lucien Rd and come through the back. 

Me and Steve Nurse and them from St Anthony’s had a chopper bike section. But I went Abbey School, Mt St Benedict. (Dutch Catholic priest principal) Father Odo. I was with Waba and them. I was a boarder but didn’t come home every weekend: I was always on detention! 

I heard about Abbey School initiation in Boogie & Them days but that was before my time. All the boarders would pee in a garbage bin for a week and then, after school Friday night, you had to stand under the light on the basketball court and they tip the bin from the top and you can’t move until you see it coming.

Boogie & Them was from Barbados and used to do they thing but I wasn’t in that stupidness. When you come in, as a boarder, though, you must get initiated. They used to put soap in they socks and beat you in the bed. Like prison licks. But I love Abbey School. I’s still go up there. Not in the Rehab, in the church section. 

Abbey School had the best food. Had a lady called Miss Alleyne used to cook all kinda baked chicken, baked this, all kinda thing. The priests used to make they bread real good. But then Fr Cuthbert tried out yogurt and, oh geed, Boy! Now, it tasting good but, back then, they was experimenting on them boarders. 

I have one sister, she’s the elder. She living Sweden. My four kids big. Huge. My last boy going Holy Cross, my eldest is 36. She living in Texas. One of my boys working in the Newsday. I have one grand, through my daughter. 

I’m not married. Them days done! Even if I selling roses for Valentine’s Day. Can’t live with them. They too commanding, Boy! They always finding a fault in everything! I got married once. That only lasted, say, ‘bout a year. Not me again. I’ll live with them. I lived with five, six women, but never ever marrying again. Can’t handle that, Boy, you mad? 

My relaxation is Stag. I drink beers for my fun. 

You’s see some real kaka-dra drivers in Trinidad. Them will see you coming and pull on you! Them don’t care ’bout you! But to make your living, you have to drive on our roads. 

I’m a Roman Catholic. Christened, confirmation, went through all that stuffs. I believe there’s a God, even with all the suffering. He does give them the freewill, nuh. 

I lived in Tobago for seven years and I love it. I’m really from “Trinbago.” Although the culture over there totally different. Doubles only now reach Tobago—and they can’t make doubles! Tobago have two real doubles man, one by the airport and one in Scarborough. All the others only trying a thing but they not making. People from Tobago have to come to Curepe for doubles. Or Arima. Under the Dial. 

Twice a year I come out from the Friday before Mother’s Day or Valentine’s. And just sell until the stock sell out. Been doing it about seven years now. We sell bouquets for $200 and single roses for $45. You could fluctuate the prices with the hampers, different things, different prices. 

The best part of the job isn’t the profit, but the passion in seeing a woman pull up Valentine’s Day, she buy something for her husband. Or a man, “Hey! Mother’s Day, Boy! Let me buy a little something for my mother!” The consideration, y’understand? The bad part is the hot sun and you have to watch for the bandit-them. We never get jumbie though. 

A Trini is the most happiest individual on the face of the Earth. 

Trinidad & Tobago means a whole lot to me. No place like home. I’ll never leave! 

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FILM MAKER

Alex de Verteuil is a 68 year-old documentary filmmaker from Trinidad who has been producing work dealing with local issues for the past 25 years.

He has many award-winning programmes to his credit that have been screened in a large number of countries including the US, Israel, Nigeria, Finland the UK, South Africa and Australia.

His work looks predominantly at local cultural and environmental themes and is prompted by the desire to educate and inform the people of his island.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ygDbrptLOC4

Kootoo, "King Devil" of rural Paramin is getting ready for Trinidad's famous Carnival.

Every year he and his brothers play 'jab'.

They become 'possessed', harassing bystanders, ripping up banana trees, blowing fire.

But does Kootoo still have it in him to retain his title, or with the younger Jabs be the better of him

With a CD-worthy soundtrack of traditional Trinidadian folk-songs and calypsos, this exquisitely filmed documentary provides an intimate and humorous portrait of a unique Trinidadian community.

This 46 minute documentary is set during the build-up to Carnival in the mountain village of Paramin.

It tells the story of the Fatima Trace Blue Devils, a band of brothers headed by Kootoo, the king devil, as they prepare for the big Carnival Monday competition.

We follow their transformation from ordinary, working members of the community into the outrageous, terrifying., mock-diabolic creatures that are the blue devils or "jabs".

Known for his athletic prowess and his dancing skills, the charismatic Kootoo must still work hard to win the prize for the best devil band.

Told by the villagers themselves in their own dialect, this entertaining story highlights the joyous heart of Paramin.

Director: Alex de Verteuil

Trinidad & Tobago, 2008. 46 min.

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Nigel P. Boos <nigelboos@eagles-wings.ca>

Saturday, April 12, 2008 2:42:13 AM

Last night, we were treated to a wonderful documentary presentation at the William Doo Auditorium of the U. of Toronto. I was called "JAB", and was produced and directed by Alex De Verteuil (MSB Class of '59). The story is based upon the little village of Paramin in the hills above Port of Spain, in Maraval, where people live in peace and tranquility, growing their vegetables and ground provisions, and where Kootoo, the star of the film, is a local character preparing to lead his merry band of local young men, disguised as "Jabs" or Blue Devils into the city, for the Carnival celebrations.

I strongly encourage everyone to see this 46 minute film, as it highlights an unknown cultural phenomenon of T&T which has been with us for many years, but which is still not fully understood, not even by Trinidadians. 

Alex and his Co-Producer, Elizabeth Topp, should be congratulated for his effort in capturing the art form on film before, as seems inevitable, the progress of modernism takes away the fun and excitement of Blue Devil 'Mas.

The flyer stated:

CARIBBEAN STUDIES, NEW COLLEGE, UNIVERSITY OF TORONTO

and A DIFFERENT BOOKLIST

INVITE YOU TO A SPECIAL SCREENING OF

JAB: The Blue Devils of Paramin

Followed by a Q & A with Director/Producer Alex de Verteuil and

Co-Producer Elizabeth Topp

WHERE: WILLIAM DOO AUDITORIUM, 45 WILLCOCKS STREET (SOUTHEAST CORNER OF SPADINA AND WILLCOCKS, ONE BLOCK SOUTH OF HARBORD AND SPADINA)

DATE: APRIL 11^TH, 2008

TIME: 6:30 P.M.

ADMISSION: FREE

Isolated in the mountains of Trinidad, the district of Paramin once a year at Carnival time sheds its rural languor and erupts into an inferno of blue-painted ‘jabs’ or devils. This 46-minute documentary, filmed in the two weeks leading up to Carnival, follows Kootoo, King Devil, as he prepares with his three brothers to once again win the village competition for the most convincing devil band. Known for his athletic prowess, and given to extraordinary feats like ripping up trees and scaling tall buildings, the charismatic Kootoo must still work hard with his band of devils to win the prize in the face of serious competition from a new generation of ‘jabs’. Will the brothers’ scheme to add a new twist to the masquerade be enough for them to win?

Told by the villagers themselves, in their own dialect, this entertaining story highlights the joyous heart of Paramin. With its CD-worthy background music of folk-songs and calypsos, JAB sheds light on a Caribbean culture that few visitors ever get to see.

Official selection: Inaugural Trinidad and Tobago Film Festival, Travelling Caribbean Film Showcase ( Cuba ), Cambridge Film Festival (U.K.), Africa World Festival of Documentary Films (U.S.A.)

"..A spectacular success. Some shots will take your breath away" (B.C. Pires, The Daily Express, Port of Spain)

"Alex de Verteuil's direction is serenely unobstrusive, letting the fascinating micro-culture unfold before our eyes. I was captivated..." (Tim Harding, Cambridge Film Festival) 

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EDITED by Ladislao Kertesz,  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.

PLEASE REVIEW THE PHOTOS AND SEND IN THE CORRECTIONS

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Photos:

16GA0001GAU, George Austin

13LK9705FBACH, Allan Chandler

56KA0014SCOUTS, New Names to the photo

13AV0002ADVFILMFEST, Alex de Verteuil