Circular No 691

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

Caracas, 31 January 2015 No. 691

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Dear Friends,

Have a look at:

https://a248.e.akamai.net/f/1362/5848/6m/s.telegraph.co.uk/graphics/projects/barbados-cricketers/

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Subject: Life beyond the boundary. Barbados through the eyes of its greatest cricketers

Date: Tue, 27 Jan 2015 12:46:48 -0400

Glen Mckoy

To jon@Sterwest.com

Hello Sir Jon,

Wishing you & your family all the best for this New Year.  

I know you have spent some time in Barbados, thought you would like this, also very interesting stuff for all our cricketers.

Sir Jon, I believe you mentioned some time back, someone in Trinidad, was working on putting together a collection of Abbey School photos and medals and stuff, is this person still available to continue with this quest. 

Sir Laz. was inquiring about some of our priced collection, that Sir Nigel sent down to Trinidad. 

I believe it is secure with the association in Trinidad.

Anyhow, hopefully something will be done, to represent our school's history, I hope this is the reason this collection was sent to Trinidad, 

I am hoping this will be addressed by Sir Laz. in his meetings with the association.

Cheers from Winter-Wonder Land,

Adios, Glen.

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Kazim Abasali

Jan 31

Thank you for following up, Glen.

Blessings to you, dear Brother.

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On Sat, Jan 31, 2015 at 12:26 PM,

Glen Mckoy <mckoy43glen@hotmail.com> wrote:

Hello My Dear Brother Sir Kazim,

I thank you for this information.  

I don't think we can make contact with him, judging from the email we got from Sir Trevor, about his memory.  

I don't know what to say, maybe Sir Nigel could give his wife a call, telling her we were thinking of him, and we would like her to know, his brothers were looking for him for some time now, without luck.  

We must pray for our brother, and hope he is in peace in his state of mind.

This completes the enquiries Sir Laz. sent out. 

Thank very much My Dear Sirs, for your attention about the brothers in question.    

Best Regards –

Glen.

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From: kazim2u@hotmail.com

Date: Fri, 30 Jan 2015 13:56:18 -0500

On our database, Vitalis has a phone number listed: 

CANADA - Ontario - Welland 1 (905) 892-8767

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From: mckoy43glen@hotmail.com

Date: Thu, 27 Nov 2014 20:14:55 +0000

My Dear Sir Trevor,

Thank you very much for this information.  

This should help Sir Laz. in his investigation, on these two brothers.  

I believe this is the brother Arthur Knaggs spoke about to me, a few years ago, but he was ill then. 

I believe he also was the 1st. Boy Scout on the Mount?

Best regards, have a good day my friend,

Cheers, Glen.

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From: tevelyn@rogers.com

Date: Thu, 27 Nov 2014 13:06:25 -0500

Glen,

Thomas Jardim lives in Halifax; Vitalis Gomes in Ontario.

Thomas Jardim is in a home and does not even know his wife

Vitalis, I cannot find his email.  W when I find it I will send to you

Trevor E 1945 to 1949

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Kazim Abasali

Jan 30

Thank you, Don, for the email addresses that are working.

I will make the updates and reshare the database with you all.

Blessings!

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On Fri, Jan 30, 2015 at 11:59 PM,

Don Mitchell <idmitch@anguillanet.com> wrote:

Hello, Kazim,

I can see that the list I sent you will provide new email addresses. 

Take for example, Gangaram Rampersad. 

He is listed in the database as email address needed. 

But, he has been in touch with me and so I got his email address.

Keep well.

Don

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From: Kazim Abasali

Sent: Friday, January 30, 2015 6:35 PM

Here is a Microsoft Excel file format of the MSB database.

I was not sure you all could use the Open Office version.

So I deleted the last one and uploaded this one.

Sorry about this.

However, you must realize the work of this database is extensive and laborious.

Nigel knows only too well.

Blessings!

https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/39985916/MSBOBs%20database.xls

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On Fri, Jan 30, 2015 at 11:08 PM,

Don Mitchell <idmitch@anguillanet.com> wrote:

Hello, Kazim,

Thank you for the update. 

Attached is a file with my observations on which email addresses work.

Keep well.

Don

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From: Kazim Abasali

Sent: Friday, January 30, 2015 3:28 PM

Ladislao, Don, and Nigel, here is the updated MSB Database.

You can retrieve from my Dropbox link below.

https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/39985916/MSBOBs%20database.ods

I am also attaching a Word document file with the changes that were made since the last database was uploaded.

Also, my next project is to put all the emails together in (500) batches to send out the database to see which emails work and which are no longer valid.

Nigel, I have to find a better way to embed the photos. They keep jumping all over the place when updates are made. So, I have to attend to that with your help of remembering what faces go with what name. I will have to compare my old database with the new one to sort it out myself. So bear with me.

Send me your kind feedback if you have any to share, which I believe you do have. Blessings to you all my dear Brothers, continue to take care......Kaz

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Kazim Abasali

Jan 22

Dave, may he rest in peace.

Condolences to you and family.

God's Grace be with you all during this time.

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On Thu, Jan 22, 2015 at 4:48 AM,

Nigel Boos <nigelboos@gmail.com> wrote:

Dave,

Please accept my sincere sympathy at the passing of your brother, Delano.

He has had a long inning, and the good Lord has called him home now.

Recall his life with fond memories and say only good things about him.

He should now be rejoicing in the presence of Almighty God, his destiny having been met.

May his soul rest in peace.

With love.

Nigel

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On Jan 21, 2015, at 5:43 PM, David De Castro <calypsobandit@gmail.com> wrote:

Hi, guys,

My brother Delano De Castro has passed on last night

He was 82

Chikungunya went to bronchitis and that did him in.

In Trinidad.  May he rest in peace.

"Bandit"

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Photos:

Bandit p12e The Early Times

03UN0003MKM,  Kitty Marcus

76FR0001GRADUATION, Fransisco Raffensperger

57BF0009MSBEDI, The monastery

Circular No 690

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

Caracas, 24 January 2015 No. 690

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Dear Friends,

From the following lines, I deduce that the material that Nigel took to Trinidad is gathering dust, somewhere in storage.

I am sure there must be more, I deduce this as, there was an idea rolling at my last ASAA board meeting, to procure a place at the mount for all collected material,

The material left in ASAA care should be considered heritage and correspondingly be seen and be accessed by all.

So I ask the keeper of these memorabilia jewels to forward a facsimile of these individual items to either Kazim Abasali, webmaster, or to the Circular for publishing.

We would not want to lose information to the next hurricane.

Meanwhile, see:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qOBOdfo7cvA 

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Nigel Boos

Dec 18, 2014

Laz,

First of all, be aware that I do not “have the hoard” as you suggest.  

I have long ago - probably 3-4 years ago - passed the entire lot over to Trinidad, since at the time the Abbey School Association had been seriously considering setting up a little museum in one of the buildings at the Mount.

I believe that the medals may now be in the hands Joe Berment, or perhaps are being held by Michael D’Ornellas who, I think, was active in this project at that time.

I may be wrong, but please check with him about the lot.

In the meantime, I did send you a number of photographs of the medal collection which had been presented to us at an Old Boys Reunion in Ajax, Ontario which took place, if my memory serves me correctly, in 2006, by Terence Ferreira.

I cannot recall your ever having published the photographs I’d sent you in any of your Circulars, so I’ll send them again:

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Glen Mckoy

Dec 20, 2014

My Dear Sir Nigel & Sir Ladislao,

I would like to first send out our best wishes to our Brother Sir Norman Smith, who was in surgery and recovering well as I read, may God Bless Sir Norman & his family over the Christmas Season. 

We must give thanks for this good news, Amen.

Re: Photos & Medals.

I am confused with the questions.

There was a reunion in Toronto, and all the Scout medals were sent down to Trinidad with the top representative of the association in Trinidad, Joe Berment.

The only question I have is, did you get someone to sign for these things? ha! ha! - not funny, as the intrinsic value of a life time of our little collections, that was brought to the reunion with the best intentions, to share in a small museum, in some small room somewhere on the Mount.

That was being arranged, but like many other ventures, no communications and I hope it they don't end up like the thousands of photos that are on the mount, just dissolving as we speak.

Just wanted to add my 2 cents, before a few years go by, and then no knows where they are, anyhow thank you Sir Laz. for finding more work us to do. 

Cheers Mis Amigos. What Can I Say?

Adios Glen.

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Nigel Boos

Dec 21, 2014

No problem, Laz.

You’re doing a fine job and we, as a group, should have no complaints at all.

It seems that you’ve received the photographs successfully.

Use them as you see fit.

I’ve collected many photos over the years, and at your request I’ll send more whenever you need some further input. Just let me know.

Merry Christmas to you and your family.

Nigel

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On Dec 20, 2014, at 10:37 AM, laszlo kertesz <kertesz11@yahoo.com> wrote:

Dear Nigel

I have used the incorrect word, Nigel, but did not get notice from anyone on the whereabouts of the "hoard".

And when I was looking for emails to publish on Egan Baichoo I remembered the medals etc. and that they had low resolution and could not be used.

It has been impossible for me to keep up with the whereabouts of the material given to you by Terence Ferreira.

If ASAA have it, who has, and what is going to be done with memorabilia ?? only God knows.

I would like to help but in the last reunion where I assisted, the hot cake of the museum was given to one of the assistants to the reunion.

No news was ever received, for me to inform to you in the Circulars.

And from what the wind blows, no news will ever be received.

And worst of all, the person who has the objects I am sure does not know what to do with them either.

But I shall include it in the agenda for my next trip to TT.

Thank you for taking the photos, I shall include them in future Circulars.  

At least we must keep something going to keep The Abbey School memory alive.

God bless

Ladislao

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Date:1 June 2002

Ladislao,

I read your circular.  Nice piece but no award.  It’s my turn now.

One of my not so fond memories of the Mount, was the teasing I got, especially from the Trinidadians about my naiveté about so many matters

I have to tell you, that I had lived such a sheltered life that my ignorance was profound, of course BoBo telling me that I will never amount to much did not help,

Does anyone remember that I got expelled for telling one of the cooks in the refectory that the boys don't mind the horse meat, but they object to the saddle.

The best book in the library was "The Last Frontier" written by I think Dennis Wheatley about the Duc De Richleau, and "Reach For the Sky" about the British pilot during WW 11 who had no legs, the Germans are still trying to figure that one out. "The Great Escape" was also in there.

All have been made into movies.

The library was a 4ft  by 8 ft operation  [located where you said it was above the driveway and opposite the entrance to the big dorm] which was filled with Agatha Christie, Dennis Wheatley, St.  Francis of Assisi, nursery rhymes, etc,

Guess any book worth reading would have had the boys heading for the nearest toilet,

Anyone remember Hercule Poirot, Miss Marple, etc, from those books?

Reading a book per month is no big deal, reading that lot at the Mount was pure torture.

Of course my favourite Mount story was the showers. 16 boys at a time, 2 minutes to get wet [turn off] one minute to soap up [turn on] two minutes to wash off.

The five minute pause that refreshed.

Up to this day I don't spend more than 6 minutes in the shower.

Where is Leon Alves, I don't see him listed anywhere, that moron and my brother Joe Vieira pushed the entire Pax Honey bee hive installation down the hill into St. Agustin, we did not get our weekly movie for one month.

Hilderbrand Green who was the very tall priest and who became abbot is back in Guyana and has started a Benedictine order on the Essequibo river.

Tony

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From Jaime Elias Benazar Andrade

I must start thanking you for your call last Tuesday.

I have tried to send you an answer yesterday but you know that under certain occasions these machines turn to be stupid and there was no way of doing it.

I must explain that effectively I studied at Mount St. Benedict during school years 66-67 and 67-68 in Form I and Form II respectively.

I find it formidable that someone has under taken the initiative to gather information and alumni in this extraordinary media that is the Web.

I hope we can exchange experiences in the future and so many memories of that era.

My office telephone numbers are (0212) 286 3323 /286 2440, it is an attorney’s office.

I hope that in the future we can maintain constant communication.

Regards

Jaime Elias Benazar Andrade

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Photos:

Bandit p12d The Early Times

65TF0003JABPTA, John Abraham and Paul Tadros

57RB0001a5, Missing two unknowns

57IF0001XXXX, maybe it is Roberto Bodington???

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