Circular No 125

Newsletter for past alumni of The Abbey School, Mt. St. Benedict, Trinidad and Tobago, W.I.
Caracas, 27 of March 2004. Circular No. 125

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Dear Friends,
I am enclosing a couple of notes from Brian Goddard, who went on a short trip up the islands. These were written in Spanish. Please forgive me for the translation; I was sick on the week the subject was being thought!

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From: "Brian Goddard" <briangoddard@oterca.com>
Date: Sun, 1 Feb 2004 14:01:49 -0400

Ladislao:
Yes, certainly, Richard lives in Florida but he was in Trinidad for vacations at the moment of the photo, and Randy Galt was not in it because he is a hardened player of the poker and that day prefered the game than to meet with us. Maybe next time there won´t be any poker game and I´ll get to see Randal ("Swami"). I shall keep you informed when I shall return from my next visit to Trinidad at the beginning of March. Thanks for the photo of class 58, they are just a little bit older than we. I recognize the mayority but I do not remember many of them. Do you have the names as indicated by the numbers? ( No. I have only some of the names, the mayority have not replied, or maybe they do not recognize themselves, ed.) Good Ladislao, I think that I have to go to Caracas once or twice before my trip and I will call you with anticipation, ok. I spoke with Farcheg a couple of weeks ago and he mentioned that they thought of meeting and that he would call me to confirm the date and he has not done so. Did they meet or have not done so as yet.?? (The old old boys are suffering from stress so that for the last 6 months there has been no meeting. Ed.)
Please call me when they are going to meet as this would give me a good excuse to program a reunion with my company and to go to Caracas on that day. Please advise me, ok. - On your friend Steven Tempro in Barbados, I shall try to look him up when in Barbados. I do not know if of Peter Boose is somebody from Trinidad or Barbados. If he is from Trinidad like I believe he is, is because I knew a Boos when I was at the Mount and I have a curiosity to know if they are family? (Peter Boos is in Barbados, is a cousin of Nigel Boos (1960), ed.) Remember that I left MSB in July of the 58 and I needed two or three years to finalize the baccalaureate (level...??) I am not as old as the friends in Caracas (Urban, Isaias, * Lipaski, * Azier Atela, * Castro, Manuel Parra, Csaba Jacobzen, and others.) My contemporaries were: Musolini, Marini, the Sol and others that I do not remember at this moment. Where are they now: Lipaski, Azier, Manuel Prada and the Castro brothers? With this I take leave and you do not forget to confirm if reunion is before 21 of February and/or the possibility of doing one on Monday 23 of Carnival, when I shall go to Caracas; since on Tuesday 24 I leave Maiquetia to Barbados via Piarco.
Saludos, Brian
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From: ladislao kertesz
To: Brian Goddard
Sent: Sunday, February 01, 2004 8:59 AM

Dear Brian,
I thought Richard Galt was in Florida USA. I am missing Swami, Randal Galt!! Good photo, Please look up in Barbados: Steven Tempro at Smugglers Cove Hotel, I need a photo and some story, Also lost contact with Peter Boos, he is a Chartered Accountant
Good Trip.
God Bless,
Ladislao
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Brian Goddard <briangoddard@oterca.com> wrote:

To my family & friends who enjoyed the land of the humming bird at one time in their lives years ago and/or for those who may remember these three musketeers from Mt. back in the late 50´s. We do look a bit used up, wouldn´t you agree!!??
They are: Standing-Richard Galt and sitting are: David (Peanuts) Deverteuil and Brian Goddard, BG ( the younger looking dude).
(Brian, please tell the guys in the photo to write. Ed)
Well, just thought that photos like this one taken a few months ago in Trinidad are worth while sharing with family & friends. I´ll try to get some more pictures of my trip to Barbados & Trinidad next month. I´ve cancelled my POS Carnival plans and going directly to Barbados instead on Feb 24th for a week and returning through Trinidad, stopping off in POS for a few days March 3rd.
I´ll let you all know how the vacation-work combination went after my return, ok. Thank you all for your continuous informative e-mails and jokes.
Take care and all the best to all,
Brian

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From: "David & Susan de Verteuil"
To: "Brian Goddard"
Sent: Thursday, January 29, 2004 1:55 PM

Hi Brian,
I'm totally embarrassed that I never answered you!!! I was extremely busy with renovations, Christmas, and then my in-Law's arrival in early January. If I had answered right away all would have been fine, it's that "Manana syndrome" that got me!! I never went near the computer for weeks, sat down today to clean-out my Inbox, delete, delete, and wham there was your letter one month old!!! Did you manage to find reasonable accommodation? We will be down the Islands over the Carnival weekend until after Ash Wednesday so unfortunately couldn't offer. Do you also realise that trying to do business on Ash-Wednesday could be quite a challenge! I'm attaching the picture we took when you were here .... Let us know your plans ..... David is a very lazy e-mailer, I'm definitely "the secretary".
Susan
Rocksb1@aol.com
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An interesting e-mail was received some time ago. Hope Elizabeth can forgive me for bringing up her letter after so long. Guys, please write her. My answers to her questions are in parenthesis.

On Tue, 20 Jan 2004 15:07:57 EST

Dear Ladislao Kertesz,
I am a novelist living in New York. I was born in Trinidad and left there when I was 19. I have written five novels and am now revising my sixth novel. For this novel, I need some information about the boarding school at Mount St. Benedict. Someone told me that you may be the person to help me. Can you help me with the following information?
(Yes I can, I have looked at you page and it is great.)
When did the boarding school open? 1942?
When did it close and why? (Boarding school in 1973, and the school in 1985. lost its economic proposition.)
Why did the monks open up a school? (I presume for economic gain and seminarian support.)
Who, generally, were the students? (Sons of British civil servant parents and well to do Trinidadian parents, those from other islands and Guyana, the Venezuelans to study English.)
I need a sense of their socioeconomic backgrounds and why they chose to go to the school. (The school had a very good reputation and the Venezuelan got there because of a favourable exchange rate.)
How did the students address the monks? Did they say Brother X? (Yes and Fr. Y)
What did the monks wear? (Cream coloured habits.)
Where did the students sleep in relation to where the monks slept? (Schoolkids slept in dormitories at school where some priests were prefects, maybe 30 kids with one priest in a closed off area, the rest of the clergy at the monastery.)
Did the students eat their meals with the monks? (No, separately)
Did the monks observe silence and for how long during the day? (I do not know but at meals they kept silence to eat and listen when one of the clergy read from the books.)
Were the students expected to observe the silence? (We kept silence at the beginning of the meals so that food could be shared in an adequate manner.)
I know these are many questions, but as a writer I need to know this information so that the scene I am developing will be believable.
(I am giving you the address of Wayne Vincent Brown, classmate, whom you must know through the literary circle, some say that he could be a Nobel prize winner?? Currently he is in Jamaica.)
I would truly appreciate your help. You can get information about me by logging on to my web site: www.elizabethnunez.com,
All the best,
Elizabeth Nunez

I have answered in italic letters, can anyone help or better yet, write to her, she is a splendid woman!! How did I do?? Please I need you comments!!!
God Bless,
Ladislao

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If any one recognizes the alumni in the following photos, please write!
Photos: From Brian Goddard 03 Abbey Boys 2003 name
From Roberto Bodington: file0001a5 20 no s125, file0001a6 150 20 s125
Wayne Vincent Brown's column can be seen at www.Jamaicaobserver.com,
Column: dbratt , Code Blue
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