Some patrons made known their displeasure at the judges' decision by booing roundly and, rising almost in accord, walking out of the National Cultural Centre in Georgetown where the pageant, which was slated to be 'the event of events of the year', was held.

A small pocket remained behind to register their disapproval in a more vocal manner.

Things had been going relatively smoothly up until then, with members of the audience being so supportive of all the delegates, at times it was hard to tell who the crowd favourites were.

Most in the audience, which was bursting at its seams, felt that, beautiful or not, the title rightly belonged to Rayon House of Fashion's Juanita Collins, based on the way she handled herself in the question and answer segment of the pageant, which was broadcast live on television last Wednesday evening, and more so during the final question which was posed to the five finalists Saturday night.

The final question was: `Were Guyana to be given US$100M, how do you think these funds should be used to develop the country, and why?'

Poor distribution of sound, placement and the over-enthusiasm of the audience, however, prevented members of the media, who were allocated seats off to one side of the balcony, from hearing the responses.

But, from the little we were able to gather, Car Care's Asha Pieters, whose platform had to do with the prevalence of drug abuse, particularly among youths, felt the money should go towards developing a programme to address the issue.

Rahaman, on the other hand, though halting in her delivery, felt the money would be better spent on developing Guyana's fledgling tourism industry by completing the Guyana/Brazil road and a spanking new international airport among, other things.

This, of course, drew resounding applause from, not only those in her corner, but others in the audience as well.

Grace Kennedy's candidate, Petal De Santos, too, also favoured tourism development, while Infinity Boutique's Shammane Joseph proposed using the money to address women's issues, especially those pertaining to their development.

Collins felt it should be first used to pay off the debt burden before tackling anything else. She, too, favoured developing the tourism industry.

Collins, a Reservations Clerk with the regional carrier, British West Indies Airways (BWIA), is also said to have acquitted herself admirably in the other segments of the pageant, namely the swimwear leg of it which was held a week ago at the Splashmin's Fun Park and Resort on the Linden/Soesdyke Highway, and the evening wear segment on pageant night.

But according to franchise holder, Mr. Odinga Lumumba, the judges had the last say and as such their decision was final.

The final results, a tally of the scores obtained in all four segments of the pageant, were computed and verified on the spot by the accounting firm, Ram and McRae, which moved in a set of equipment to do the job.

Collins, perforce, had to settle for third place, or second runner-up, behind De Santos, who, as the rule dictates, will represent Guyana at the upcoming Miss Universe 2002 pageant in Puerto Rico next month should, God forbid, anything happen to Rahaman.

The positions of third and fourth runners-up respectively, went to Joseph and Pieters, who was also voted 'Miss Sacha Face' and 'Miss Body Beautiful'.

The likeable Rahaman, who, from as early as the swimwear leg of the pageant, had always elicited mixed reaction from the crowd, was also voted 'Miss Congeniality', a title conferred on her by fellow delegates.

Sissel Moore, who was sponsored by the group, Shortt & Friends, was voted 'Miss Total Togetherness'.

Judges for this leg of the pageant, whose names ostensibly were a well-guarded secret, were former Misses Universe Mpule Kwelogobe and Wendy Fitz-William; Justice Carl Singh; King Solomon's Enterprise Managing Director, Mr. Stanford Solomon; Ms. Lianne Angus, first runner-up in Miss USA 2001; communications specialist, Mr. Kit Nascimento; Ms. Sheryn Hylton-Parker, Community Liaison Officer at the U.S. local mission; and Dr. Steve Surujbally, Commissioner of the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM). Chief judge was Ms. Jennifer Webster, Permanent Secretary in the Office of the President.

Beginning fashionably late as is the trend these days, things got under way with a dance piece, which was a collaborative effort between the National Dance Company and the National School of Dance, and a beautifully-choreographed opening piece depicting the 20 delegates in search of self and the elusive Miss Guyana Universe crown, for which they wore identical bronze-piece suits sporting cold-shouldered midriff tops and asymmetrically-cut short skirts.

Following this they broke into two groups, with delegates numbers one to 10 on one side of the stage, and delegates numbers 11 to 20 on the other. Beginning with delegates numbers one and 20, who were the leaders of their respective flanks, each girl sidled up to the microphone on their side of the stage and introduced themselves, while the others kept the crowd entertained with the little dances they did on the spot as they awaited their turn.

The next time the delegates appeared on stage, they were each wearing identical black one-piece bath suits, trimmed with pink and green floral appliqués, which was a vast improvement on the gold and black numbers they wore at Splashmin's.

Identical fresh pink roses worn Hawaiian style in their hair, a slip of pink chiffon worn like a sarong around the hip, and bronze heeled sandals completed this ensemble.

Between this and when next the delegates emerged for the evening gown segment of the pageant, the audience was kept well entertained through a number of cultural items which included performances from members of the National School of Dance and the National Dance Company; the local group, 'First Born' backed by the all-girl Marigold Choir; reigning Calypso Monarch, VJ, who never seems to grow tired of campaigning for a shot at the presidency; and a group of svelte overseas models who showed us a thing or two about how it's done in the 'outer world'.

For her evening wear, Rahaman wore a Pat Coates creation featuring a simple little black number with a dove tail and three spaghetti straps. A French chignon and heeled black and silver sandals, all of which contrived to give her a certain 'Latin' look, completed her ensemble.

De Santos' gown, too, was also cut along simple lines, as was Joseph's. Both were the creations of local designers, Pam Fox and Coates, respectively.

Both Pieters' and Collins' outfits, which latter was one of the few elaborate pieces on display that evening, were designed by Michelle Cole.

Rahaman was crowned by Kwelogobe, while Fitz-William secured her sash.

Many in the audience wondered aloud at the absence of former Miss Guyana Universe, Morvinia Sobers [ please note: link provided by LOSP web site ] throughout the proceedings.

All the delegates were presented with certificates of participation and pieces of jewellery as a token of appreciation from the planning committee.

Among those in attendance were President Bharrat Jagdeo, Education Minister, Dr. Henry Jeffrey, Culture Minister, Ms. Gail Teixeira, Public Service Minister, Dr. Jennifer Westford, Tourism Minister, Mr. Manzoor Nadir, and City Mayor, Mr. Hamilton Green and his wife, Dr. Jennifer Basdeo-Green.