Circular No 635

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

Caracas, 4 of January 2014 No. 635

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Dear Friends,

The first Circular of the year 2014.

The Circular and “staff” wish you the best for this year, lots of prosperity and health.

Keep on sending the photos and your lines, we are waiting on you to participate.

Do not forget the REUNION 2014.  Further information follows in the next 5 Newsletters.

A bit late but nice to hear:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q5lJoVXTthM&feature=share,

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Nigel Boos

Dec 31, 2013

Hi Lincoln,

Thanks for the kind note and good wishes.

I wish you all the best too, for the New Year.

I'm sending your email to Don Mitchell, who is coordinating the 2014 Reunion.

Hey - how about sending me a picture of yourself, for the database?

Regards,

Nigel Boos

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On 2013-12-31, at 6:06 PM, Henry Lincoln wrote:

Hi Nigel.

It's new-year’s eve and I just wanted to drop you a few lines to say thanks for all that you do to keep the old Mount boys informed.

Happy New Year and may God continue to bless you and your family.

I attended 68 thru 69 and lived at the junction of St. John's road and Eastern Main road.

Hope to be at the reunion.

I live in Enterprise, Alabama.

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On Tue, Dec 24, 2013 at 5:41 AM,

Nigel Boos <nigelboos@yahoo.ca> wrote:

Bandit raises a very serious matter that heeds our fullest attention, and has asked for help in bringing this into focus.

It is this: too many of us seem to be unaware of the damage and security problems we're causing by neglecting to use the "bcc" (i.e blind carbon copy) option available on all computers in the "Mail" program.

When we send out an email with numbers of email addresses listed in the "cc" (carbon copy) field, we are offering easy access to scammers to harvest them and to subsequently cause us all much grief and heartache, in having to change passwords, update programs, install security anti-virus programs and so on.

Please STOP !!

Please use the "bcc" option every time you wish to send out an email to more than one person.

In other words, whenever we are sending out an email (as we do every day), please can we agree to insert one name - probably our own name - in the "To" field, and place ALL OTHER ADDRESSEES in the "bcc" field (as I've done in this email itself).

There may be instances when we want the addressee in the "To" field to know that someone else has been copied on the email being sent out, and in such cases, it would be understandable to insert one or two addresses in the "cc" field, but this should be an exception to the rule.

Perhaps, if we were to do this, we could all benefit by not having our email addresses compromised.

Best wishes for Christmas and the New Year. May God bless us all.

Nigel

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From: mckoy43glen@hotmail.com

Date: Mon, 30 Dec 2013 21:17:38 +0000

Thank You, Sir Garnet,

When you say, it would be Froggy, I remember you did mention same previously.  

Nigel, I hope this will help in resolving the mix-up.

Thanking all for their kind co-operation.

Best Regards 

Glen.   

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From: Redstone_6@sympatico.ca

Date: Mon, 30 Dec 2013 14:25:31 -0500

Hi Glen,

While there may have been another of the same name, in your time,…

The Neil/Neal Woon Sam that Hugh Henderson, Peter Ames and Joe Azar would have known from the Fifties,..would be ”Froggy” that I had mentioned to you….

Sir Anthony also knew him quite well.

Finally some people whom I recognize and remember,….but whichever one it may be,…

My condolences to his Family, and may he R.I.P.

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From: nigelboos@yahoo.c a

Date: Mon, 30 Dec 2013 12:17:34 -0500

I've received another msg only 15 minutes ago from Shaun Gianetti, to say that Neil Woon Sam is indeed alive, and that he'd spoken with him only a few days ago.

I have therefore been incorrectly informed and I hasten to correct the error.

Keeping track of the lives of 1500+ Old Boys spread over the world, from a tiny desk in Ontario has its limitations, to be sure.

Shaun tells me that Neil's contact info is as follows:

Dr. Neil Woon Sam <neil@woonsam.com> 

Married to Lesley

+1(868) 678-3338 

Lives in Valsayn, Trinidad

DOB: 24 May 1964

But I think we have a problem.

See, Hugh, if, as you claim, Neil was a school-friend of yours, he would have attended the Abbey School in the 1950's. BUT, according to Shaun, he was born in 1964.

Were there two Neil Woon Sams? The mystery continues.

Someone, please check this and get back to me.

Thanks.

Nigel

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On 2013-12-30, at 12:05 PM, Hugh Henderson wrote:

Nigel, thank you for the sad news about Neil Woon Sam.  

He was one of my best friends at school and we played cricket, football, tennis etc together.

Also scouts.

The Mount toured Guyana in 1955 to play all sports against St. Stanislaus, after which Neil went to live in California.  

Two years ago he visited T&T and Joe Azar organized a nice lunch for Neil attended by Malcolm Boyack, Peter Ames and myself plus one or two more.  

It was great to see Neil after all those years and to learn that he had changed his name to Neil Wilson.  

At school, he spelled his name NEAL and I am sure he was born on November 02.

I am interested to know how you learnt of his passing so I can tell the others.  

If you have a spare minute please let me know.  

Thanks again and Happy New Year to you and family - a special hello to your Mom.

What is Charles doing these days?    

All the best.  

Hugh.

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Nigel Boos

Dec 31, 2013

Roj,

Thanks for your confirmation.

So, there definitely were two Woon Sam boys, each named Neil / Neal.

Apparently, one has died, and since the other, today Dr. Woon Sam, married to a lady named Leslie, lives in Valsayn Park,

I BELIEVE that the older person, a 1955 graduate from MSB and Hugh's friend, might be the person who was reported to me as having died.

In which case, may he rest in peace.

Unless this statement is challenged or corrected, I shall have to maintain that it is correct, and I will hold onto the record as if he were still alive, changing it to a confirmation of his death at some time in the future, if it seems no-one wishes to contend.

Happy New Year to Joyce and yourself.

Nigel

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On 2013-12-27, at 7:34 AM,

Roger and Joyce Henderson wrote:

As a small boy at MSB I remember Neal Woon Sam.

The Woon Sam born in 1964 is definitely not the same.

Hugh is correct.

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From: Nigel Boos [mailto:nigelboos@yahoo.ca] 

Sent: Monday, December 30, 2013 10:37 PM

Thanks, Roj, for your input. 

I've written to Dr. Neil Woon Sam (DOB 1964) who studied at MSB in the 1970's.

I'm interested to know whether he knows anything about the older Neil (or Neal) Woon Sam - hey, maybe they are/were related. who knows? 

One other thing, was there also an Eric or Ernie Woon Sam as well at MSB?

I've heard rumours.

If so, it might be that he could be the Woon Sam who has died.

Here's wishing you and yours a very happy New Year.

Nigel

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From: nigelboos@yahoo.ca

Date: Mon, 30 Dec 2013 17:48:05 -0500

Garnet,

In trying to clear this up, what can you, or anyone else, tell us about "Froggy",

Was his name also Neil Woon Sam?

If so, does anyone, anywhere, know where he lived? Or died?  

Any advice gratefully received.

Also, any idea when he graduated from MSB?

We now know that Dr. Neil Woon Sam was born in 1964 and possible attended MSB in the 1979's.

Clues, clue, clues needed. Detectives at work.

Thanks.

Nigel

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Nigel Boos

Dec 30, 2013

Dear Dr. Woon Sam,

Please excuse this intrusion into your privacy. 

I am writing as a member of the alumni of the Abbey School, Mt. St. Benedict, which, I understand, you also attended.

For the past 13 years or so, we have been slowly building a database of all the Old Boys of the Abbey School, and we regularly correspond among ourselves and have had a number of mini-Reunions in Venezuela, the USA, Ontario, Canada, and of course, Trinidad.

I have been trying to contact you, among many others, and only today have I been given your email address by Shaun Gianetti.

The reason for today's contact is this - we had heard that someone named Woon Sam had died during 2013, and we wrongly assumed that it was you who had passed away.

Hugh Henderson, who graduated from MSB in 1956 states that a Neil Woon Sam had been a great friend and tennis partner, but then, when we realize that you were born in 1964, you could not possibly have been THAT particular Woon Sam.

My question, therefore, is this: Do you know of anyone named Woon Sam who had attended MSB and who died during 2013?

If so, were you related to him in any way?

In fact, were there any OTHER Woon Sams apart from yourself who attended the Abbey School?

Your assistance in clarifying the situation would help tremendously, since the Old Boys from the 1950's are getting a little upset with me proclaiming the death of one of our own, who actually is still alive and kicking here on earth.

Regards, and here's wishing you a happy New Year.

Nigel Boos

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From: Don Mitchell

Sent: Monday, December 23, 2013 5:51 PM

Subject: Have a Happy Christmas!

Hi Ladislao,

Here’s hoping that you have a wonderful Christmas and a Happy New Year when it comes.

Our news is that I am now once again retired as my stint on the Court of Appeal comes to an end on December 31. 

It has been quite an adventure working with some brilliant and dedicated judges for the past two and a half years. 

We visit each of our nine member countries at least twice, sometimes three times a year.

We have been able to sample the hospitality and delve into the judicial work of each of the BVI, Anguilla, Montserrat, Antigua and Barbuda, St Kitts and Nevis, Dominica, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, and Grenada. 

Maggie has joined me on several of the trips, and has seen for herself the demands of the job. 

Talk about a peripatetic court!

It has been a rainy year, with the weeds outpacing our effort to rein them in.  

Herbicides have been more effective than the trimmer. 

We have got away to Europe on a 16 day cruise, and enjoyed meeting Maggie’s siblings and their children and grandchildren. 

But, now it is time to settle down in Anguilla for the year to come, which will hopefully be a quieter and less travelled one. 

I shall be teaching High School law, and re-opening the Anguilla Legal Aid Services and Anguilla Legal Aid Clinic (wonderful acronym).

Keep well.

Don

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Ladislao Kertesz at kertesz11@yahoo.com,

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Photos:

MSBAP25MI6512, Mount Inside

13RD4949RDAWFE, Robert Dabadie and wife

56UN0001DELIMASTORE, De Lima´s Store Front

06RD0746RDA, Robert Dyal