Circular No 371

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

Caracas, 13 December 2008 No. 371

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Dear Friends,

I have not received further news on the REUNION 2008, so back to the old emails.

I am reading Novembers email, so those who have written shall see their emails in the Circular.

Tim Mew called me a few weeks ago through SKYPE, we had a nice and long conversation.

He suggested that all of us should get into SKYPE, so please read on.

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Tim Mew MHC tim-mew@bigpond.com

Fecha6 de noviembre de 2008 20:10

Hi Ladislao,

Here is the web site for any MSB ex student to use if they wish to down load and use Skype to talk.

http://www.skype.com/download/skype/windows/

One has to select a Skype name for use, with mine being "timmewaussie".

This way one can search Skype for either a Skype name or via their emails, from there contact can be made one-way and the choice is up to the recipient to reply and share their details with you.

I chose to open an account with Skype via Visa for a small amount [say USD 20] with which I can call anyone on their normal phone landline.

When this falls below a certain $ value, I have elected for an automatic top-up of $20.00 again to keep a credit, but this choice is individual.

The costs vary from country to country, but are always rather inexpensive, eg. my phone call to Venezuela was only $0.04 per minute from Australia.

PC to PC is Free for both Skype users and broad band is better [than dial up] for reception and talking.

If your PC or Note Book has a video camera built in or a Camcorder attached you can see each other.

Or at least one of the two on the Computers if only one camera.

If I go to Skype on-line and wish to talk to a friend, who is not on-line with Skype, I usually call their Telephone and if at home they go on to the computer to talk free.

I transfer my call from the telephone to a new Sykpe call.

It can be a very nice way of keeping in touch with and directly talking to one's old class mates, rather than only use emails or faxes etc.

One can have a laugh, share a joke, answer questions directly, tell each other about families, or "getting old" and reminisce about past days together, whilst sharing the present.

I hope when you have the chance, you can publish this email and encourage other MSB 's to join Skype.

Also when you have the chance, please send me any telephone numbers from my 1958 class friends in Venezuela and also any MSB members in Australia, particularly Melbourne.

Cheers for now and I thoroughly enjoyed our talk and my "surprise" call to you.

Tim

{Mew}

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Attila GYURIS

Sunday, July 6, 2008 5:52:16 PM

You are welcome.

Glad to have made your day!

Yes I remember Antonio Scannone very well.

Great and powerful swimmer.

Also remember that he was a smoker, which, sadly I think, eventually dashed his hopes of continuing in the swimming competitions.

He left the Mount before getting to Form 5.

Another guy I am trying to locate is "Piccoli Beretta".

Remember him? I forget his first name.

He was at the Mount for a short while also, around the same time as Raul Leoni was there.

Attila Gyuris

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
From: Rafael Echeverría reglaw@gmail.com

Date: Sunday, July 6, 2008, 5:02 AM

What an extraordinary Photo Attila !!! ... you brought so many memories of faces, names and events .....

At last I have seen Antonio Scanone again !!! ...

Panamerican Champ in Butterfly Style, remember ??? ....

I had been looking for him for years in all Mount Photos ... but now - thanks to Fr. Benedict ("woosh") and you - we have his face again.

Antonio does not look as fat as I had remembered him.

He was such a great person, noble and kind and a great sense of humour.

I am honoured to have had him as a close friend during my Mount years.

Take care Attila !!!

CheChe

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Aqua lads reunion

Henri A. Mendoza

Monday, May 5, 2008 10:58:51 AM

Everybody,

Aqua Lads (and Lasses) are planning a reunion for Br. Rupert .

There was a preliminary planning meeting yesterday............the following was decided...

Date: Oct 4th, 2008

Location: Ortinola Estate, Maracus Valley

Follow-up meeting planned for June 15th, 08

Price: estimated 200 TTD/ person

Agenda:

We are thinking to present Br with a montage of old Aqua lads photos, so please send me copies that you think he may appriciate.

We are also thinking of having a representative for each year to give a small "speech" of funny stuff that happened over the years.

The real plan is to just get everyone together for old talk and laughs.......remember life is short.

suggestions welcome..............

P.S: please spread the word............

Henri A. Mendoza

"Life may not be the party we hoped for, but while we are here we might as well dance".

868-622-3706

868-735-3574

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Date: Mon, 21 Apr 03:46:32 +1100

From: "Brian Andrew Wickham"

Subject: Abbey Aqua Lads and Lasses Swim Club

Hi,

Unfortunately, I am now coaching a different club.

Do you know Brother Gerard by chance ?..

He was the last manager of the club when I was there.

Brian

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Winston Ramsahai

Tuesday, December 2, 2008 12:05:27 AM

Season Greetings to you and our family.

Nice to hear from you and as always your visionary works, "keeping the Abbey Spirit alive", are always acknowledged at every Reunion.

Your visit to TT is long overdue, although we will not have a TT Reunion in 2009 a special banquet can be organised if you plan to visit and share the msbtunapuna story.

The flikr site will be upgraded to 1Mb soon for downloads and the collection of photos 03-08 will be posted, plus the CD from 07 & 08 reunion photos will also be mailed to you.

We discussed with Manuel Prada the possibility of the TT guys visiting Venezuela or Margarita - open for discussion - Usually there are low cost Easter charter tours from TT –

Will send the CD's next week.

Regards

Winston

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Lawrence Scott

Lawrence Scott is a prize-winning Caribbean novelist and short-story writer from Trinidad & Tobago.

He has been awarded and short-listed for a Commonwealth Writers’ Prize Best Book and Best First Book in Canada & the Caribbean, twice Long-Listed for The International Impac Dublin Literary Award, The Whitbread Prize and The Booker Prize. He was awarded the Tom-Gallon Short-Story Award.

His work has stimulated critical work into the post-colonial novel’s use of magic-realism, carnival, calypso, her/history, storytelling, dialect/standard narratives, identity, landscape, the body, race, religion and homo/sexuality.

His work has been performed on the BBC. His poetry has been anthologised in Europe and the Caribbean. He travels frequently in North and South America and the Caribbean and has read, lectured and talked about his work internationally.

He has been a Writer-in-Residence at the University of the West Indies and was a judge for the 2006 Commonwealth Short-Story Competition.

He is A Senior Research Fellow of The Academy at Unversity of Trinidad and Tobago (UTT) for Arts, Letters, Culture and Public Affairs 2006-2008.

He lives and works in both Trinidad and England, writing and teaching literature as well as creative writing at The City Literary Institute in London, The Arvon Foundation and City & Islington Sixth Form College where he taught for many years.

(I have not been able to contact him, but at least he is in the WEB. Ed.)

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"Donald Goddard"

Date: Tue, 8 Jul 21:08:37 -0700

Hola Giovani:

Que sorpresa tan grata. La verdada es que a traves de Ladislao y la Pagina web de los Mount "old farts" muchos de nosotros nos hemos encontrado.

Estoy en USA desde 1990 En ese ano cuando estuve trabajando en Maraven como

gerente de Geologia en Maracaibo,

What a pleasant surprise. The truth is that through Ladislao and the WEB page the older guys, lot of us have reencountered.

I am in the USA since 1990. That year when I worked in MARAVEN as manager of Goelogy inMaracaibo.

I looked into my crystal ball and it said to me: "get the fuck out of Venezuela because the future will be bien jodido".

So I took my family and moved to Baton Rouge, Louisiana where I got a job at Louisiana State University as a petroleum researcher.

I'm still here and occasionally do some consulting work for Venezuela.

Christian lives in Oklahoma City and has been in the USA for the past 40 years.

Ese carajo tiene billete que jode y ya se jubilo.

Brian vive en Valencia, enviudo el ano pasado.

Se quiere ir para la mierda pero no se decide para donde irse.

Creo que esta pensando en Trinidad porque le encanta una negrita.

Urbano tambien se quiere ir de Venezuela, pero como no le gusta las negritas esta pensando en irse para Dinamarca.

Siempre te recordamos.

Sobre todo cuando ibamos para tu casa en Pertigalete.

Como estan tus padres? Por favor de nuestra parte le das muchisimos

saludos.

Estoy en contacto con Urbano, Peter Morvey, Pradita y muchos otros de los Mount Boys.

Tambien tuve la grata sorpresa de un email de Csaba Jacobszen lo cual me contento muchisimo.

Que hay de la vida de Pepe Braggio? La mafia de Puerto La Cruz esta lentamente reaparenciendo.

Cada ano he ido para Venezuela o de negocios o de vacasiones.

Pero voy para Maracaibo y luego para Maragarita.

That guy has a lots of money, and has already retired.

Brian lives in Valencia, he is widowed.

Wants to leave but has not decided where.

I believe that he is thinking of going to TT because he likes a negrita.

Urbano also wants to leave Venezeula, but since he does not like negritas he is thinking of going to Dinamarca.

We remember you always.

Mainly when we went to your home in Pertigalete.

How are your parents?. Please give them our regards.

I am in touch with Urbano, Peter Morvay, Pradita and many other Mount Boys.

I had a nice surprise having received an email from Csaba Jakobszen, made me happy.

What about the life of Pepe Barggio? The mafia of Puerto La Cruz is slowly reappearing.

Every year I have travelled to Venezuela on business or vacations.

But I go to Maracaibo and then to Margarita.

I tend to stay out of Caracas as much as I can because I can't stand the traffic or the malandros.

Urbano gets angry with me because I don't call him.

But the truth is that everytime I'm there he is travelling somewhere.

After the "referendum"???? and after the situation returns to normal in

Venezuela, I will come down for a visit.

In the mean time, if you are in our neighbourhood you are more than welcome to come to my home.

Un abrazo, Donald

----- Original Message ---------------------------------------------------------

From: "GIOVANNI MARINI" <giovanni.marini@cemex.com.ve>

Sent: Monday, July 07, 6:47 AM

Hi Donald .......

How are you doing, you son of a gun

I got Ladislao circular #86 and to my pleasant surprise found your e-mail together with Brian's and Christian's.

Well.... how are things going in your way. ..Where are you living?

Are you in Venezuela ?

As for myself, I'm living in Caracas, and my mobile phone is:

0414.9.25.23.66 and my office phone is 0212.999.7401.

Hope to hear from you soon, and let me know if you come to Caracas.

God Bless

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That is for now, till the next one

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Photos:

08DM5196REUNION2008, group of UNKNOWNS

08DM5199REUNION2008, Peter Tang, Christopher Knowles, and UNKNOWNS

08UN0498REUNION2008, group of UNKNOWNS

72UN0002AQUALADS, Please check out the names.