Circular No 947

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

Caracas, 28 December 2019 No. 947

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Dear Friends,

Close to the New Year, Hope all made it in good health.

Would like to hear from you, the Circular need action, hahaha

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idmitch@anguillanet.com

18 Dec 2019, 06:29 (2 days ago)

Dear Isaias,

Thank you for your message below, which I am sure the Old Boys from your generation will enjoy, if our chronicler, Ladislao, will publish it in one of his Circulars.  You don’t say that you copied it to him.  So, I am copying this reply to him to make sure he gets it.

Although I was only a small boy at the time, I remember you well.  No doubt, the Farcheg photographs that feature so highly in the Circulars over the past 18 years have helped with the memory.

Best,

Don

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From: Isaias Farcheg <farchegisaias@gmail.com>

Sent: Tuesday, 17 December 2019 22:06

Dear Friends...

It is a long time since I wrote something for the Mount Circulars.

My respect and admiration for the wonderful work you have carried out.

Not long ago I wrote, about an incident by the month of December 1958, when the whole class room DECIDED TO BREAK THE RULES OF THE SCHOOL... Here is the story.

How examples of Literature can be used to call one’s attention.

Since I am in holidays, and have a little extra time for giving hints with regards to this movie, that already has a script writer, I will suggest, that each one of you, try to bring up a small story of the incidents that you had in your school days.

At least I have more than one, but let me start with the simpler one…

We were being picked up every day to a nearby school in order to present our exam for the High School Cambridge Certificate.

We still had about three more exams to go.

Everyone waited patiently for the small school bus to pick us up, at the end of the afternoon. 

Before going on with the story, I have to tell you that I am referring to the month of December  1958. 

Father Bernard was our Headmaster and at the same time our teacher in Literature. 

I was one of the Prefects assigned by Fr. Bernard.

At that time I have to acknowledge that Fr. Bernard was very fond of our Form V group, and he always was defending us against Fr. Jerome and Fr. Eugene (Fr. Jerome, passed away many years ago and Fr. Eugene, left the Priesthood while being in England and got married, a few year later). 

Both of them were always looking forward to our wrong doings and were eager to let Fr. Bernard know about it.

 Back to the story…at that time in the Strand Cinema in Port of Spain, there was a movie, that was being praised by the people and the local papers, we are referring to

Witness for prosecution.  (1957 movie with the following actors…Marlene Dietrich, Sir Charles Laughton, Tyrone Power and Una O’connor).

This movie had obtained a Golden Globe Award in 1958. 

Well the devil had his way with the majority, who decided one afternoon to go the movies without permission, and the argument was that Fr. Bernard would not expel us, since we only had 4 more days to end the school year, 

if everyone decided to go the movies, it was going to be a big problem of how to deal with this awkward situation. 

The majority did go, with the exception of Ricardo Figuera (also a prefect) and two more of my companions, whose names I don’t recall at this moment and myself.

All the ones who went back to school, still were subject to the temptation of going to the movies, and silently we felt bad about ourselves of being coward in making such a decision. 

Only three of us decided to go back in the bus to the school.

On arriving at the on our way back, we met by surprise and old ex-school boy, from Port of Spain, who had gone up to talk to someone in the Monastery, I am referring to Joe Azar.

After we greeted him, he noticed that something was bordering us, and of course once he came to know the reason, the devil’s temptation was easier to follow, and Joe Azar, also was of the idea that we could not be expelled if we broke the rules of the school and escaped to see the movie…and in less than a split second we were sitting down in his car on our direct journey to the Strand Theater, and later on to eat one of the delicious hamburgers in a near by Dairy place with a thick chocolate shake. 

Our absence from school was noticed by Fr. Jerome and Eugene, who immediately, went and tell Fr. Bernard. 

Every one of us were able to return to school by half past nine, that night.

We had a lot of questions marks in our head, but also the memory of how good the movie was…by the way you can look it up on you tube a be able to see it all, without going to Port Spain.

The following day Fr. Bernard was taking care of us at the time of breakfast, and whenever I saw him approaching me, I tried to avoid his sight. 

Half way through the breakfast, he gets near to me and bowing near to my ears, he whispered, those words that were once mentioned in the play of Cesar, in the writings of William Shakespeare…!

"¡Et, tu Brutus! I felt it like a dagger that stabbed me in my pride of being a good prefect…with such three words I was able to learn a lesson by means of a simple example of literature.

To end the story…Fr. Bernard never mentioned anything about our escaping to see a movie, and behaved with us, as if it had never occurred.

I think the looser of the whole incident were Frs. Jerome and Eugene.

Also I learnt that a Teacher has ways of teaching, without recurring to punishment of any sort…just by intelligence, and personal insight of the one who feels guilty....

"AND, YOU ALSO, MY DEAR FRIEND BRUTUS!. 

Definitely A TREMENDOUS GOOD TEACHER, A GREAT MAN AND FOR ME A SAINT...May he rest in peace. 

(Isaias Farcheg, graduated in December 1958, actually working in Caracas as a Gastroenterologist, and PROUD OF HAVING HAD MY EDUCATION IN THE ABBEY SCHOOL. 

By the way I pay a weekly visit with you tube watching TOP SHOT MT. ST. BENEDICT...TO REMEMBER IN TO RELIVE...bring back old memories

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Allan Harris

6 Jun

Dear Ladislao,

I hope you had a successful and enjoyable trip to Trinidad.

From this newsletter I've received a couple of emails from Old boys of which two were from my time, Marlon DaSilva and Carlos Guio, both living in Canada.

The other two were from Esmond Lange living in Perth Australia, and Neil Charles Orlando FL.

The list that I sent to Nigel a couple of months ago I listed two Venezuelan brothers named Carlos and Luis Gonzales, when in fact their surname is Guio.

My apologies, but at least I got their first names correct.

The last picture in newsletter 393 of the re-union shows Gordon Mitchell, Dennis Gurley, Peter Tang, Jean Demelliac, and Andre Lazzari.

The person that is identified as Andre Lazzari is in fact Gerard ( Gerry) Stauble.

Thanks once again for bringing us together.

God Bless,

Allan 

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Allan Harris

Hi Nigel,

Esmond Lange emailed me using his email address esfran@poppie.com.au

I've tried several times to reply to him, but his mail keeps bouncing back.

You wouldn't happen to have another email address for him?

Thanks,

Allan 

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kristof de marothy <kdemarothy@gmail.com>

Dec 18 at 6:51 PM

The jpg that you emailed me is the best resolution you will get.

I cannot find the original photo and it might be in an off-site storage facility. 

When we retired in 2015, we moved to Vermont into a smaller house and placed lot (too much) in storage. 

Not sure where exactly the pictures are and one day will have to search for them.

You will have to do with what you have.

As they say in the old country "sajnalom"

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laszlo kertesz <kertesz11@yahoo.com>

Dec 7 at 10:22 AM

Any time is OK, Kristof.

Have a nice vacation and if you meet any oldboys please send a photo and email address.

Have a good trip

Laszlo

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Kdemarothy <kdemarothy@gmail.com>

Dec 1 at 3:50 PM

Will try. But I just left for vacation and will be back sec 11

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laszlo Kertesz <kertesz11@yahoo.com>

To: davidames1@suddenlink.net, Kristof de Marothy, maroth19@gmail.com

Dec 1 at 8:52 AM

Dear Christopher,

Please resend me the photos with a better resolution.

I cannot use the once you sent because of low resolution in the Circular.

I am enclosing one that I tried to photopshop but no luck.

Also need confirmation of you latest email address.

God bless,

Ladislao EDITOR

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Andres Freites Borges <andresfreitesb@gmail.com>

Dec 18 at 12:34 PM

Hello Nigel/Lad,

After reading Lad's Circular 941 I sent a word to Bodhan Alexander (nazi) Lew's brother Myron.

Please find Myron's clarification e-mail briefing so that we may actualise our brothers' information.

When I first interchanged ideas with Myron (2014) I explained that the meaning of calling Bodhan as "nazi" was because of his german ancestry.

That this nickname was not meant to be pejorative.

I never knew Bodhan's name or surname although we were quite close up at Mount.

He was the most jovial guy in my time and was always making jokes about Tunapuy's ways of living and talking.

Thanks,

Andres (Freddy) Freytes

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From: Myron Lew <myronlew1@gmail.com>

Date: Wed, 18 Dec 2019 at 11:18

Hi Andres,

Let me update the information: My brother Bohdan Alexander Lew is 73 years old I am 65.

My brother went first to Mount and when I got to Mount I realized that they were calling him Nazi. 

I did my Masters in Geology in Windsor University were I met my wife Julie.

We then went to Gottingen, Germany where I did a PhD in Geochemistry.

We then went to Venezuela where I worked at Intevep for one year and in Maraven for ten years.

I started in Maraven with a salary of $3000 and after 10 years I was making $500 due to the devaluation.

Due to this I got into the Jewellery business, first buying from wholesalers and then manufacturing.

After several years I decided to have all my Jewellery manufactured in Hong Kong.

I was selling mainly to the Jewellery shops in Venezuela.

We now have a website www.nwjd.ca. 

We have two sons, Misha and Yuri, and they both live in Ottawa.

My older son Misha is married and has 2 girls and 1 boy.

Misha played tennis professionally for a while but had to stop due to injuries.

He was at the Niki Pillic tennis academy in Munich and was roommate with Novak Djokovic.

Since May 2017 we have been living in Ottawa, my brother lives in Sarnia.

Yes I remember staying at Salvador's mother's Hotel in Cumana.

I think the name of the Hotel was Astoria.

We use to go to the dentist in Cumana.

It was about 3-4 hrs drive from Tunapuy.

All the best my friend,

Myron

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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:

10LK1693FBRMLWFE Robert Mac Lean and wife

14LK1229FBRSI, Rudi Singh

11LK4506FBGEVWFE, Glen Evelyn and wife

46TE0111MSBEDI, Sketch of the future school