Circular No 306

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

Caracas, 15 September 2007. No. 306
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Dear Friends,

There would be no confusion if there would be a writer at the Mount or a kind soul that would keep informed the ALUMNI of pertinent matters at MSB.

I understand that there is no one with the time to keep us informed.

So the latest on the new Sports Complex.
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...Re: What's Going On At The Mount?
Rafael Echeverría
ViewWednesday, September 26, 2007 3:25:38 PM

Great to hear from you too Paul! God ... it's been such a a loooong time.

It is great to know about you.

And yes .. I will have the Sancoche ready (I kept the recipe !!) ... Calaloo ... and of course ... plenty of Roti... with plenty pepper !!!!!!

Take good care of yourself man ! Don't hesitate to contact me at any time and for any reason.

GOD Bless !

CheChe ....
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On 9/25/07, Paul de la Bastide <paul.delabastide@comcast.net> wrote:

Hey CheChe,

Your know that if any Trini comes to visit and you serve soup, it must be Sancoche

Just in case you don't have the recipe…. here it is. (Hah!)

http://recipes.caribseek.com/Trinidad_and_Tobago/sancoche.shtml

(Great to hear from you old fart)

Pablo de La Bastide

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From: Rafael Echeverría [mailto: reglaw@gmail.com]
Sent: Tuesday, September 25, 2007 6:08 PM
Subject: Re: What's Going On At The Mount?

Gosh ! ... I am soooooooo proud of you all.

I really do not know what is going exactly regarding the preservation of Mount's lands, but it makes me feel so proud to see how you guys take care of the most beautiful memories of My life.

And then I notice that perhaps they are also Yours !!!

I was thrilled and sad at the same time to see the latest pictures of the football field, I so much enjoyed, seemingly abandoned.

And the pool, the showers.

It brought so many memories.

GOD bless you all.

Please take due note of my address and phone numbers in Florida.

Keep them and use them whenever you want.

A Mount Boy will always have a bed to sleep and a plate of soup at home.

My Brothers ......................................... The Mount Boys !

You make feel privileged and proud !

CheChe

(Rafael Echeverria)
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On 9/25/07, Don Mitchell CBE QC < idmitch@anguillanet.com> wrote:

Thank you all for keeping me in touch with what is going on.

Don
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From: Manuel José Prada Padovani
Sent: Tuesday, September 25, 2007 7:58 AM
Subject: RE: What's Going On At The Mount?

Dear John:

I believe that this confusion has arisen after having read Kertesz´s Mount circular.

I think it´s #298.

Please check it out.

The person in charge of a leasing and reconstruction of Mount´s sports complex is Bro. Rupert.

I know of this because he comes often to Venezuela and we have a close friendly relation, including Isaias.

Rupert is a very close friend of the Tangs, my trinidadian family.

The monks don´t want to sell or anything of the sort.

I understand the complex could be revamped and it would be of great service to the community as a whole and to the Abbey,specifically, as an important source of money.

This is what it is all about.

Please contact Br. Rupert or the Abbot.

Pud was just a very important and fortunate contact with the government authorities after Rupert made the comment to him and Rupert being sort of despaired for the government not having answered after having they made an offer in the sense that I have mentioned.

This last august was in TT for a very short visit:

A Tang´s wedding and a meeting with dear fat Pud.

I don´t have his new email but he can easily be reached in TT.

Hope this note clarifies things.

Do contact Rupert or his excellency the Abbot for further actual details.

Regards and promise to see you on my next visit.

All the best and God´s blessing to all Mount boys.

Manuel
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Fecha: 22/09/2007 16:27:26

Dear Ladislao:

I must update you on what is being done concerning the sport complex.

On my recent visit to Trinidad, late august 07, Dr.George Laquis, established a very important contact with Brother Rupert who is in charge of the project, his Excellency the Abbot and the TT minister of Health, who on behalf of the Abbey would re-establish conversations and the possible financial aid and solution that the TT government had previously proposed to the Abbey.

Now in late September I have had no further news from Br. Rupert and the results of the meeting that was to be held between the persons already mentioned.

I suggest that you call George and see what has happened from our last meeting with the TT Minister of Health or call Br. Ruperto to hear his briefing.

Please forward this mail to those interested in the issue.

Regards.

Manuel Prada
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From: jongolding@wow.net
Subject: Re: What's Going On At The Mount?
Date: Mon, 24 Sep 2007 21:50:00 -0400

Dear Nigel and all recipients of this email

I am not sure what this is all about but if reading between the lines we understand that they want to sell off the field to raise cash perhaps we could all be informed about the situation, as Nigel has put it so well below, and find an in-house solution.

Some of us have on several occasions told the Abbot and Fr Cuthbert (and even Bro Vincent the night we saw Manuel in TT last year) that the old boys collectively have the resources (mental as well as financial) AND the motivation - to build a retirement retreat for us and our families - somewhere in the vast acreage - which would create a real community with considerable pedigree and support for the objectives of the Abbot and monks.

Can we know more about all this please?

Regards

Jon Golding

Geoff Golding

Ian Golding

MSB old boys (and getting older!!)
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From: Nigel P. Boos
Sent: Monday, September 24, 2007 4:41 PM
Subject: What's Going On At The Mount?

Dear Fr. Cuthbert,

I have just received a note from Manuel Prada indicating that some sort of discussions have taken place between Fr. Abbot and a number of the MSB Old Boys with regard to the Sports Complex at the Mount.

I must confess that I really do not get much information from the various attached notes, and I am wondering whether I could request a report by email from whoever at the Monastery is handling this matter, as to the plans for the various buildings , lands, Sports Complex, etc. which all form part of the Monastery's holdings.

The Abbey School holds many wonderful memories for all of us who were privileged to pass through its halls, and we must now consider that we were indeed blessed by the very fact of our isolation and togetherness, as these have hardened us and brought us together as a group, even though many years have passed since we walked on those grounds and played on those fields.

The shortage of vocations which is everywhere evident today is a sad reflection of our times, when materialism and consumerism have become the gods of our age and when, as was reported in the Tablet only a few days ago, in your own homeland of Holland, "The Catholic Church in the Netherlands numbers 1,557 parishes, with 1,112 priests, many of them elderly, 286 deacons and 774 male and female pastoral workers. Officially, there are more than 5 million Catholics (out of a total population of 16 million, of whom 1 million are Muslims). Less than 10 per cent of the Catholics are regular churchgoers. Most young people do not relate to any Church. It is expected that, by 2020, some three-quarters of the population will not belong to any Church".

This is very sad indeed, and now, we see that the day has arrived when the very Monastery where, individually, we received the greatest spiritual gifts that any boy could desire, is soon to close its doors.

What is to happen to the buildings? What to the lands, the playing fields, the swimming pool, the tennis courts, the Visitor's House, the Rest House, the Abbey School itself, St. Benet's Hall, the entire Complex? Surely, there must be a plan somewhere!

Is it possible that among the many of us who were fortunate to attend classes at the Abbey School, there might be one or two who are in a position, as Lawyers, as Surveyors, as Real Estate Agents, as Politicians, as friends, who could come to the aid of the old place and offer some advice and help?

With fondest good wishes.

Nigel Boos
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Use the code on the photos when replying.

This is for now, keep well.

God Bless

Ladislao
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Photos:
50UN0001MSBPC, Post Card of the MSB Complex.
03UN0002EDIMSB, Rear view of the Monastery

The first two numbers are the year the photo was taken, please help.
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