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For many years I have enjoyed a Xmas or New Year Holiday in various hotels both at home and abroad and have paid the premium demanded. For the past few years I have enjoyed a bridge holiday at the Crown Hotel in Weymouth that was also a simulated Xmas holiday in November.

Saturday was Xmas Day, Sunday was Boxing Day and Monday was also New Year's Day with all the appropriate meals and frills. This weekend has become so popular that the hotel is always fully booked from year to year, people booking before they leave for the next year.

While there we always pay a visit to a speciality shopping village built in a redeveloped Victorian Brewery at Weymouth's Old Harbour called Brewers Quay. We were investigating a family member who was involved or owned the Brewery Company that occupied the building. A lot of the old equipment such as pumps and motors have been restored to working order and are contained in one of the three museums.

My wife's grandfather owned the Turks Head, a public house in central Weymouth. I was told that he was never able to make any money. He used to be too sympathetic to the many visiting destitute sailors. We did not find any links here.

There is a new museum in the village, which contains a unique record of local social history featuring costumes, maritime artefacts and regalia of the borough. In signing the visitor's book, we got into conversation with the curator. When my wife asked about an uncle of hers, who was a manager of the local prison, she said that she used to go to school with his wife and we were able to reminisce over common acquaintances.

She then told us to make sure and visit the new underwater museum that was situated behind the cafe. This we would never have found if she had not mentioned it to us. I was fascinated by this museum as it contained the history of the first ever torpedo developed at Weymouth at end of the 19th century. As I have in my life worked on the development of two of our modern torpedoes now in service this was of particular interest to me. They had collected together many of the old components, motors and drawings of the torpedo. The first model looked like something out of 20,000 Leagues under the Sea. There were 130 test firings of the Mark 26 torpedo in Weymouth bay.

I intend to go back to Weymouth for more Xmas breaks and look forward to more discoveries.

First published in VISA issue 45 (spring 2002).