BEAUTY QUEENS have, in the past, been mistaken for pretty, smiling simpletons. Indeed, we may have required no more of them in previous years but a good figure and great teeth. In actual fact, today’s Beauty Queen is responsible for an awful lot more than that. She sets examples for other young people to follow and is in many respects a figurehead like the Queen of England. And because she has arisen from among the people, they see in her a picture of themselves and their aspirations to excellence, they wish, and quite rightly, to show the world that a young woman of their country can be the equal of any other. In this job therefore, the Beauty Queen must be very careful to conduct herself in a manner which will lend dignity and pride to both her people and herself.
Unfortunately, in Guyana as in many other developing nations, women have not always tried or been able to assert themselves, and society has consequently missed much of their positive inputs. Nevertheless, the tentative steps taken of late to show (and proudly too!) what women can contribute, have been heartening. Not the least conspicuous have been the spate of Beauty and Fashion shows.
I cannot emphasize strongly enough though, that these contests in themselves are not the be-all and end-all. Rather, it is what can be achieved after the contest that is important. These titles can, should, be made to work for the benefit of all rather than the personal gain of the title-holder. This is the point of the Miss World contest.
The Miss World contest is used to generate large amounts of money for children’s charities; it also provides tremendous international goodwill and free publicity for any country that enters. The very fact that Guyana succeeded in sending a contestant to London can be used as a rallying point for many other achievements which require the co-operation and talent of Guyanese from many walks of life. One that comes to mind is our Olympic effort.
I’ve learnt a great deal and about the Miss World contest. It has been an experience that 1 shall treasure always and would recommend to any young woman. I hope I shall have the chance to pass on this knowledge to Miss Guyana 1989.
No. 2 boiler could be back by Christmas
THE Guyana Electricity Corporation (GEC) is working hard to restore the out-of-order Kingston Number Two boiler to have it operational by Christmas, corporation sources said.
Repairs to the turbines continue and special mandrils are “due any day now” from England for the boiler, the sources disclosed.
If the boiler is back in order it could add another 8.5 megawatts to the current power supply which hovers at between 22 and 25 megawatts.
Peak demand at nights is close to 40 MW and although the repaired boiler would not meet this demand, it could ease the current prolonged spate of blackouts during the holidays.
Power currently comes from Garden of Eden (3 MW); Kingston (17 MW) and Guymine (between two and five MW).
In the meantime, government has decided to buy a 10 MW power barge from the United States to supplement current power supply.
The second-hand diesel engines for the barge are now being reconditioned, sources said and the barge will be towed here from Houston, Texas where it is now berthed.
Sources said the cost of the equipment is reasonable and the GM diesel engines should not be too expensive to run, another source said.
Additional pilings will have to be put down at Garden of Eden to moor the barge and if everything goes according to schedule, it should be operational by the end of January, sources said.
The Dutch firm Boskalis which is currently dredging the channel in the Demerara Harbour to permit loading of bauxite ships, is said to have helped in the acquisition of the barge.
With the No. 2 boiler and the barge in place supplies would be close to covering demand though sources have noted that equipment has to be taken out for repairs and maintenance from time to time so blackouts could still occur though with much less regularity.
Open-air carols for Regent St shoppers
EFFORTS are being made to make Christmas the joyous season it once used to be.
This year, there are plans to have carol singing on the empty site next to the Beepat building on Regent Street. Organiser of the event, Mr. Dennis Beepat, said that next Friday, and from December 19 to 23 there will be two choirs each night from 6 pm. to 9 pm. performing.
He disclosed that during this time, the stores between Wellington and King streets would remain open, and he added that it is hoped that that section of Regent Street will be cordoned off to vehicular traffic. This, he said, would lessen noise to aid the singers and facilitate easy shopping from store to store.
The organiser noted that 12 choirs in all are expected to participate and these would include the Brickdam Cathedral Choir, The Good Guys led by Vibert De Souza, the Ogle Presbyterian Group and the Choir of St. Joseph The Worker, Church of Linden. He added that other choirs are welcome if they wish to participate. Beepat said that during the singing session, donations may be given to the choirs for their individual parent organisations.
He declared that so far the response to the venture by other store owners has been very encouraging. Beepat recalled that a similar exercise was carried out by Wm. Fogarty’s years ago and he added that this attempt to reintroduce it is “just to put some spice and flavour back into the Christmas season.”
-(L.J.)
