Newsletter for past alumni of The Abbey School, Mt. St. Benedict, Trinidad and Tobago, W.I.
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Dear Friends,
Another newcomer to the Circular.
Can we have a new one per issue? I know this is difficult but there are many TT ALUMNI that are missing from the new listing.
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RE: skippy
Monday, September 10, 2007 3:42:27 PM
To:"Schaefer, Glen O. CIV MSFSC N02M"
Hey can´t you fowl fuckers spell my name correctly?
I remember Skippy; he was somehow related to Lennox Lake
Skippy used to live in Australia
Skippy, I lived in Australia for about 6 years and only returned to this xxx hole called Trinidad in late 1999.
Are u back in Australia?
(Who was Lennox Lake
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RE: skippy
Glen Mckoy
Monday, September 10, 2007 10:08:54 AM
Hi Skippy,
It was really good to hear from you, man.
I will cc. the other guys with you numbers, so hopefully people will drop you a line.
bye for now
Glen
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Subject: skippy
Date: Sat, 8 Sep 2007 11:56:56 -0400
From: glen.schaefer@navy.mil
Here is my e-mail
757-443-5772 wk
757-838-1640 hm
757-344-1548 cell
757- 434- 0605 blackberry
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Re: Remembering Mr. Chow Fat
Attila GYURIS
Sunday, March 11, 2007 2:57:57 PM
Hi Lindsay,
Good recount on Mr. Chow Fat.
He was indeed a great teacher, and very popular with the boys.
I have had the same questions about this background and what became of him, but, unfortunately, it is unlikely that mystery will ever be solved.
He was too young and talented to stay at the Mount for long.
I am sure he went on to bigger and better things.
In addition to being the ordinary Math and Physics teacher in Form IV and Form V, he also taught Add Math in those grades, which I took form him all the way into Form V.
I did well on the GCE 'O' levels thanks to him.
He was most influential in my choosing chemical engineering as major in college, (as well as Miss Kitty Marcus, as my Chem teacher).
Yes, I remember too the twitching of his jaw-bone muscles when he was angry at some misbehaving student.
He also had difficulty with pronouncing the "...sks" in "tasks".
He would say "Take out your Tasksks..."
He was indeed good at aiming the chalk, but at least that was a darn sight better than Rughead throwing the entire duster (with the wooden back).
That hurt!
I also remember him being quite allergic to the chalk dust, visiting the school nurse for remedies and creams.
At one time he even resorted to wearing latex gloves in class, but that didn't last long. And he always wore dark or black pants, which were always covered with white chalk dust, because he would inadvertently wipe his hands on his pants.
If I were to guess, I would say he was in his late 20's to early 30's at the time, but I may be way-off on that.
Attila Gyuris
MSB 1964-1969
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Remembering Mr. Chow Fat
Andres Larsen
Friday, March 9, 2007 1:18:51 PM
Lindsay John Moffat
Andres Larsen asked, “Do you remember Mr. Chow Fat?”
Yes, I do.
Mr. Chow Fat was the mathematics teacher for some time (Algebra & Geometry) I think Physics also.
Like Mr. Yip Chock I had admiration for him too though I did not do so good at mathematics or physics - my fault not his - I simply could not maintain the concentration and lost interest.
I think the Chinese teachers were the best and very focused.
I remember him as being very skinny with spiky hair and looked very young too though I could not say his age then.
He had a way of instilling discipline without shouting or hitting or making a fuss - if one misbehaved he would turn to look directly at you silently, eyes like daggers and the muscles of his jawbone pumping rapidly - a look that made one feel like he was saying 'You stupid little boy' and made one's ego shrink to about the size of an ant.
A good way to shut you up without doing very much.
There was another trick up his sleeve though - If you played the fool when his back was turned (when he was at the black board for example) he could spin round rapidly and send his chalk flying, hitting you in the head with it with pin-point accuracy every time.
No one could ever figure out how he did that!
Needless to say he was good at sport - Ping Pong to be precise - so fast, focused and agile he was.
One of the reasons why I think he got on well with the boys during recreation.
Though I have often wondered I know nothing of his history.
How did he come to be a teacher? - how did he come to be at Mt. St. Benedict ?
Where did he come from before that? What was his ancestry?
Perhaps these questions will always remain a mystery.
Dose any body know where he is now??
Lindsay John
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Hi there, Las,
OK, I've got the name/s o a few of the guys for you, and I hope this helps.
Others can fill in the remaining blanks for us.
#1 is Alex De Verteuil photo 57RB0001a9
This kid was, I'm sure, one of the Seheult boys, probably Peter.
He was a brother to Mac, and (I think) cousin to Hugh, Christopher, Roger 'Nylon" and Stuart (Cush
#2 is Alex De Verteuil. 57RB0001a7
I think I even remember the day he shot the grouper, and if I'm right, it was down at Scotland Bay
I think he said that the fish pulled him for quite a bit before it died.
Alex - where is your memory?
I've got to tell you about Alex, you know.
When we were in Form V, in 1959 / 60, we were allowed the "privilege" of walking back to the School after meals via the "long walk", which afforded us the opportunity to distance ourselves ( suppose) from the younger boys, and occasionally, of lighting up.
On one occasion, as we turned the last bend in the road, the one which had that magnificent mango tree where we eventually built a great tree house for liming, (but that's another story), there, on the roadway in front of us, stood a large cat, with it's head firmly stuck into a tin can.
"Good Lord, that's an ocelot", said Alex, the hunter among us.
(For those who don't know, the ocelot is the wild cat of Trinidad .)
Alex quickly took control of the situation and decided that somehow we had to get the tin can from off the big cat's head.
He asked a few of us to take a firm grip on a leg each, while he attempted to remove the tin.
I had the tail!
I remember feeling the power in that cat's tail.
It was so stiff and strong, and one could just imagine the power behind that animal's muscles.
In retrospect, we were stupid, I think, to do what we did, because that cat could have hurt us very badly.
We had a Chinese teacher who taught chemistry at the school, and someone suggested we should just pick up the cat and take it into the classroom, close the doors and windows and there try to remove the tin.
Hopefully, the freed cat would take over the classroom and we'd be able to get a day or two free from classes.
Anyhow, we did as we were told, and I held on to the tail with all my "might", prepared in an instant to let go if the creature turned on me.
I feel that everyone else had the same silent thought.
As for our hero, Alex went to the front of the cat's had and slowly began to prise the tin away from the animal.
He rocked the tin slowly from side to side, and kept up a running commentary:
"OK. it's coming. . . . . Hold it now. . . . . it's coming. . . . . Nearly there . . . . .OK, OK, it's . . . . . . . . . . . ."
His words were lost in the next flurry of excitement, as the ocelot, as soon as the tin-can was removed from it's head. simply took a massive leap and, leaving us all aghast at it's speed and strength, landed on the roadway below the one on which we were standing.
The last we saw of the beauty was a pair of leaping, bounding, racing back legs as it disappeared from sight.
What an experience!
I still think it would have been better if we'd used the classroom option.
But, that was out Alex.
Great guy!
Oh yes, what about the tin-can?
Well, left with the can in his hand, Alex looked into it and showed us the reason for the big cat getting stuck in that way.
Inside the can, quite dead, was the body of a little bird.
Quite an idea, eh?
How to trap an ocelot?
So, this is my contribution for 2007
Good luck to y'all, and 'til next time, Rejoice the Lord is risen.
Alleluia!
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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:
57RB0001a9, group Alex de Verteuil, made some corrections
57RB0001a7, group Alex de Verteuil, made some corrections
58NB0104FORMIII, CLASS1960 taken in FORM III
OCELOT, by Nigel Boos
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