Newsletter for past alumni of The Abbey School, Mt. St. Benedict, Trinidad and Tobago, W.I.
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Dear Friends,
News on the REUNION 2007, Jon Golding’s report. This is the third insight on the Reunion .
A long winded one, but it explores the realm of why we keep in touch, why we write or not and our connections with MSB.
I did have a long talk with Bro. Rupert here in Caracas
I told him that although there were many successfully businessmen at the Reunion, it did not meant that money would be forthcoming, maybe only material donations, because business does not work that way, and that these businessmen would really help by having the right contacts, where the money was, specially in a wealthy country.
Hopefully we are going to get a report from Gary Matthews (member of the organising committee) with whom I corresponded and is a good writer, soon, outside the official minutes by Peter Sammy, which were published in No. 318.
Since I have a complete Circular, the next one is going to be No.320.
In it, I am going to include Fr.Abbot´s email and the Christmas Greeting that have been received by the 22 of December.
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Dear Ladislao
I don't know what others have said about the get together but I also went to the social evening afterwards at Dennis Gurley's house which was most enjoyable since the crowd all know one another - we were all from the same era (you would have been totally at home yourself).
My candid view of the overall day and evening was that the meeting at Mount was well intentioned but there were several ambitions which I could not see happening for a number of reasons explained below.
The objectives of the meeting seemed to be:
(a) to form a non-profit association (legally) to act as the forum for the gathering of the clan;
(b) through this organisation to find ways to assist the monks/abbey in whatever way we could, and:
(c) to somehow try to re-establish a school (at the mount or elsewhere).
The gathering was reasonably well numbered (around 30) and stratified in about four disconnected time layers - old boys from the 1950s to the 1980s!!
This of course meant that there was little in common with most except their former affiliation with the school.
So few knew one another.
The centre of gravity was probably around the period 1958-1970 where several of us knew one another.
The difficulty which I saw was that there was no much in common between the various alumni layers and the culture of this last remaining remnant of the old school was a bit like Father Cuthbert's yogurts - good stem cells to propagate regrowth but regrettably the expected live-by date of the culture was probably only 20 years max on a declining yield curve.
There was limited floor participation in the free sense of discussion to get a true flow of feelings and ideas.
I put this down to understandable anxiety to get something material done in the short time.
This actually became counter-productive as more pressure was put on keeping attendees comments to a time guillotine.
A pity because an opportunity was lost to get heart-to-heart communication going after all the superb efforts to get this group together (hats off to the organisers).
The bottom line is that I feel the motive/rationale for this intended formal association is misguided and destined to fail.
Forgive my frankness but I have to say it as I see it.
The reason this initiative is unlikely to succeed is that only a handful of well-intentioned souls are trying to get the old boys to collaborate (through a formal association) in an effort to 'help' the monks and abbey generally, and even to fantasise about having an abbey school again!!
Let me defend my comments.
We all have mixed emotions about the penal years served at the prison on the hill.
In fact, I know some old boys who would not go near the place or put one cent in the collection because of the indelible emotional (and some physical) scars they took away from their years there.
But many of us have nostalgia for the friendships we made and personal achievements in sports, scouting, even academia.
This often has little to do with the Mount and monks per se and is in spite of them rather than because of them!!
Let me quickly add that I came away with good respect for only a few of them because they did add value to my personal growth and education (eg, Fr Ildefonse, who we all feared but admired, Fr Cuthbert with his balance and reliability, Fr Benedict who loved his science and taught it with conviction and caring, Fr. Peter who was our resident Saint, Fr Abbot, Adlebert van Duin, and even Fr Bernard (our 'Bobo') and of course several of the brothers like Br Joseph, Br Oswald, Br Vincent and others I have probably omitted in error).
The list of undesirables is much longer and challenges our anger hormones but we'll leave it at that!
I have to say the decade 1955-65 approx must be the golden decade for the Mount evidenced by the fact that not many years later the core monks who built and held the Mount together were gone (including Br Gabriel, the architect, Br Anthony, Br Ignatius Br Camillus ('Swa') and even Br Skull).
The Mount as we knew it is gone forever and will never be repeated.
Let's cherish whatever good memories and friendships we have as our relics.
Having said all that, to me, the old boys 'association' (as it stands on its last legs today) is about the old boys, not about the monastery, the monks, the school or anything up the hill, which are just inanimate memories.
The boys who are still in contact with one another are many and if they really had the kind of affection that some want them to have for those days they would gravitate to the website and e-letter network.
But I know many who would rather keep in touch with their old boy colleagues on the ground but have a resistance to admit their connection through something as public as the web or an e-letter.
I am not talking about cross-generational disconnect but about the same class groups we belonged to.
Think about this carefully. Why is that?
If anyone can answer that question they will have the answer to trebling the size of the virtual association that we are.
My humble view on it has already been stated.
They want to forget, not remember the Mount days.
This is a pity not for us who have surfaced but for them not having come to terms with the disappointments of their growing years. Serious stuff!
I take my chapeau off to Arthur Knaggs, Anthony Johnson, yourself and now Don Mitchell for actually holding together this virtual association (which is all it can be anyway, like a family circle which does not need a formal corporate structure, albeit non-profit, to exist).
We are all part of the old boys association whether we acknowledge it or not and whether we send in donations to pay for the online cyber-association structure or not.
Reason is we cannot exclude the memories of the boys we did not like as well as those who became lifelong friends.
They are all part of who we are today having influenced our development for better or worse!
By extension, the strict and even sadistic monk teachers we remember are part of that extended family too.
His Holiness Pope Benedict has beau-coup money and resources at his disposal and has mandated the way monasteries should operate and survive around the Catholic globe.
Why do we have to interfere in this process by thinking we need to 'help' the monks?
Our MSB monks voluntarily chose their lives and sacrifices and should be much closer to next life's rewards than we sinful old boys.
So, what are we doing by trying to be good Samaritans when they really did not ask or wish to receive our help?
We should simply be beseeching their prayers and intervention to get us a ticket to the big graduation ceremony they are close to attending, not trying to deal with earthly matters which matter little to them anymore! Capiche?
The Pope does not need us to do anything since he can see from the annual accounts and monastic intake/output if this Dutch relic real estate (with still some living Dutch relic retirees living/dying there) is to be continued or not.
The Abbot's bosses from the Benedictine HQ in Ireland
They are certainly not living in the dark.
So let's not get seduced into participating in this charity event industry which is now big business around the world (and incidentally most of the money raised goes to pay for the big dinners and socialising with precious little filtering through to the charities- check it and see).
Forget helping the monks; they don't need what we have to offer.
Forget trying to build a school on the crumbling foundation of a dying (soon to be dead) monastery.
Great memories, Yes, but that's where it should stay.
Incidentally, if we did not make lasting friendships when we had the chance under the oppressive MSB regime (best time to count your friends) what's the big deal of now trying to form such relationships when the movie is over?? QED.
No need for a formal association to rekindle relationships that will not spark anyway!
We all have better meetings to go to - ie the informal ad hoc gathering of the old boys who respect one another and have proven it by keeping in touch.
Back to the old boys!
Let's not paddle our canoe up the swamp.
We do have an association albeit a virtual one but it seems to be working fine (altho' I am sure some cash donations would help make the website and its operators' jobs easier).
We have an association through the e-letter and occasional enthusiasm of the mailing list to get together.
But to be fair it is not cross-generational. It covers only a window of time where those connected still know and have dealings with one another.
Ladislao, keep doing what you're doing and let's not get distracted with anything but getting our mailing list to stay alive for as long as possible and through this powerful medium.
You may lose readers after you publish this and I apologise in advance for my comments which are not meant to offend anyone but to raise awareness of where the focus should be - this very forum.
Our association exists and is as strong as the willingness of its mailing list members to keep in touch.
But we need to increase its potency beyond being a picture album association to one where we can exchange business cards and either do business or charitable works among and for one another.
That's how I see it.
Sorry again to be so direct but as my age increases my patience becomes less and so does the time I have to use it.
Warm and cordial regards
Jon
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You are right Jon, at this closing date, yours is the third and last report?? on the meeting.
Three out of thirty odd ALUMNI that assisted.
I presume that this score tells it all.
Meanwhile as soon as I can I shall be trying to get CLASS 1962 together, please need your help.
If I can get long lost friends together then my job is or has been successful.
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Photos:
61UN0002CLASS61, Finally all the names are in!!! Congratulations CLASS 61 This photo shall be sent in a future issue due to the lack of space
07RE00172GRP, Fr. Abbot
07RE0168REGRP, Bro Rupert
07RE0149GRP, Dorenllas, Fr. Cuthbert, Berment.
07RE0148RECGRP, Laughlin, Tang, Jon.
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