Circular No 687

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

Caracas, 3 January 2015 No. 687

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Dear Friends,

Here are the emails.

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From: Joe bermentmcdowald@yahoo.com

Sent: Thursday, December 25, 2014 9:11 AM

Subject: Holiday Greetings

Dear Fellow Alumni,

Peace and best wishes to you and your loved ones.

Wishing you a happy Christmas and a prosperous new year:

Fortune in your financial and work related affairs, happiness in your personal and family life and the best of health.

Looking forward to your active participation in the coming year! 

Yours sincerely,

The Abbey School Alumni Association

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Richard de Verteuil

Nov 3, 2014

Dear Ladislao,

Yes, I did receive the circular.

Sorry to hear about yet another knight falling off his perch.

Condolences to his family.

Although I also live in England, I did not know him or his family!!

I may have known another Pampellone as I was at the Mount 1949-51, or I may have known him at Presentation College, 1952-53.

I then left and came to England and went to Stonyhurst College, 53-59.

Just never went back home to live, but still consider myself a Trini!

My new email address is r_deverteuil@yahoo.co.uk although my old one will still forward emails to me.

I have had to change to yahoo as my ISP, EE/Orange, has a ridiculous system that means I get a lot of my wife's email, and she gets mine, just depends on who downloads first each day!

Hope to get back for a visit next year as I still have lots of family and a daughter and granddaughter living there.

Cheers for now,

Richard

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Carlos Dvorak

Dec 31, 2014

Estimados y queridos,

Les deseamos todo lo mejor para este nuevo año, que Dios los colme de bendiciones, salud y felicidad.

Para regalo:

Les enviamos este extracto de una hermosa canción del grupo Boyzone, de 1998, titulada "NO MATTER WHAT"

Nunca importa lo que te digan, hagan o enseñen, si en lo que crees es la verdad.

Nunca importa cómo te llamen, te ataquen o te lleven, siempre que puedas encontrar tu camino de regreso.

Nunca podrás negar en lo que crees, ni en lo que eres, sabes que amaras por siempre y eso es lo que verdaderamente importa.

Si las lagrimas fuesen risa y las noches día, si las oraciones tuviesen repuestas, entonces escucharas a Dios decir.

No importara lo que te digan, hagan o enseñen, si en lo que crees es en mi, crees en la verdad.

Yo te mantendré sano y fuerte, libre de cualquier tormenta y no importa si los sueños parecen ser estériles, nuestro sueño siempre estará presente.

Nunca importa a quienes los otros sigan, donde sean lideres, o como nos juzguen, siempre seré lo que necesites.

No importa que el Sol no brille, que el Cielo no sea azul o cual sea el final, lo importante es que mi vida nace en Dios.

Los ama de todo corazon

Familia Dvorak Quintana

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Carlos Dvorak

Dec 31, 2014

Dear and beloved,

We wish all the best for this New Year. May God fill you with blessings, health and happiness.

Our gift:

We send this excerpt from a beautiful song group Boyzone, 1998, entitled "NO MATTER WHAT"

Never mind what they say, do or teach, if what you believe is the truth.

Never mind how you call, attack you or take you, you can always find your way back.

You can never deny what you think, or what you are, you know you'll love forever and that's what really matters.

If tears were laughter and day nights if they had answers prayers, then will hear God say.

No matter what you say, do or teach, if what you believe is in me, believe in the truth.

I'll keep you healthy and strong, free from any storm and no matter if the dreams seem to be sterile, our dream will always be present.

Never mind who the others will follow, where they are leaders, or as we judge, always be what you need.

No matter that the sun is not shining, the sky is not blue, or whatever the end, what matters is that my life is born in God.

Love them with all my heart.

Dvorak Quintana Family

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Ladislao Kertesz

Dec 29, 2014

Thanks, Cornel,

And I will take this opportunity to pass on my best wishes for The New Year to you all.

Warm regards

Jon

Jon Golding (London)

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From: Cornel de Freitas [mailto:corneldefreitas@hotmail.com] 

Sent: 29 December 2014 02:37

It is Christmas time, the most wonderful celebration we all inherited, and an opportunity to wish ALL of my MSB Brothers and their Families

A most Blessed and Joyous Christmas and a very Prosperous and healthy New Year.

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Bernard Fontaine

Les deseamos unas Felices Pascuas y un Prospero Año 2015 con mucha salud, amor y prosperidad.

Bernardo, Flor y Marie Claire Fontaine

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amickiew@att.net

Season's Greetings from:

MICKIEWICZ FAMILY

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Date: Tue, 16 Dec 2014 00:19:50 -0500

From: calypsobandit@gmail.com

Also found John Maginot –

An old boy in my days he is still the mayor of Longwood a small town in Florida outside of Orlando after 15 years they will not let him retire believe it or not

"Bandit"

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Hi Las,

Keep up the good work. While it is great to see the number of old boys coming under one roof, it is unfortunate that very few see it fit to write about all the crazy exploits that we as students under the watchful or not so watchful eyes of Fr(s). Bernard, Augustine, Gregory and others would get up to.

While I would admit that not every day was a happy one, the memories that I have of MSB today are lasting, and looking back were enjoyable. I remember the hikes to white stones and continuing on to the old Monastery on Mount Tabor, playing in the scout band and the long weekend camps in Mayaro. As Sparrow would say, school days were happy! happy! days.

Hey Manuel remember the scout band, may not remember me, but then again many should. I was the most miserable young student together with Gordon Mitchell (young boxhead), where did you get that name from? that loved to "terrorize" the "big boys". It was hit and run, run like you never ran before, because when you got caught, God help you. Cut ass for days.

I remember playing in the Mount band as a drummer, dressed in either white, or scout uniform. With the scout hat on my head, and drum at my side, I was invisible.  Manuel was head drummer at the time, with others like Daniel de Verteuil, Roger Ames, Nigel Boos, and others whose names I can't remember at this time. At that time, the Mount band was the best in the island, no other scout troop had a band. What do you expect! We were the best.

Something else always fascinated me. Where did all the nick names come from? how where they derived?  But then that might be another story, maybe one for you Don? or Chris?, Wayne?.

Robert Huggins

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Date: Tue, 28 May 2002 09:33:31 -0300

Hi, my name is Simone Vieira and I am married to Anthony Vieira's brother Eddie....

Don't know how I ended up with your email but I did....

They are all home numbers ... will find their email addresses and send them on to you saw you were looking for a Clive Vieira ... I think he lives in Canada ...sometimes I get FWs with his name on it will send on to you when they come again..........

Terry John is an uncle and lives next door to me .....

If you can´t get through to them on the phone, email me letters to them with your contact address etc. and I will have them delivered to their homes............

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From: Tony Vieira

To: ladislaokertesz@hotmail.com

Date: Fri, 31 May 2002 06:31:59 -0700

Cheers Ladislao,

I have been given an email which I found quite astonishing, after all of these years, imagine a couple of old Mount boys attempting to communicate with each other.

I have virtually lost track with everyone, we came from every part of the compass anyway, didn't we?

I did go back to the Mount in 2000 August and found that the school no longer existed, and was now a rehabilitation facility for drug users, the pool was empty, the field and tennis courts were unkept,

There were huge gates presumably to keep the druggies in, so I did not even get the opportunity to walk around the place.

Just as well perhaps, it was depressing enough to see the place in that condition,

My new born baby was very sick at the time and she was in the Mount Hope Hospital so I went into to the Abbey to say a prayer,

They have kept that well, I ran into this old priest Father Benedict [says that they named the place after him??]

He told my wife that he used to teach me science, but I did not make the connection until we were driving down the hill, then the old bulb came on "of course" I said to my wife, Jewel, "Father Voosh".

Over the years I have met Joe Azar, Puds Laquis and Brendon Gurley.

I go to Trinidad quite frequently now, two, three times a year.

I have a business association with Ken Gordon CCN and I have a friend Dr. Omar Khan who is head of the radiology department at Mt. Hope hospital.

Does anyone know where Edward Lloyd is?

He was the closest thing approaching a friend I had at the place, and Enrique Manuel Castells, where is he?

And what happened to Joel Guy Blandin?

I am very interested in what you are doing and I would be very happy to take part.

Let me know if I can help in any way.

As far as the scout band is concerned I think that I vaguely remember most of the boys especially Stephen Clark, Pablo Figuera, Manuel Prada and Nigel Boos.  Boos I remember for his name it is such an unusual one.

Tony Vieira.

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Jon Golding

16 Jan

Hi Guys 

I just found this in my photo collection after a lot of searching.

This is a unique shot of Fr Bernard which I think captures the expression and I remember it like yesterday.

Please feel free to pass it around. The caricature is attached.

I don’t have the emails of the old boys at hand.

Cheers

Jon

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Photos:

Bandit p12a The Early Times, Abbot Adelbert van Duin

61JG0001FBE, Fr. Bernard by Golding

57BF0006CLASSGRP, Another of many unknowns

08GM3809GMI, George Mickiewicz