What's to Love in Weymouth?

Without wishing to be rude, it's a bit grim in Weymouth. It wasn't helped by the wet weather, but the gravelly beach, the run down side streets, the Standard British High Street, the traffic, the Pleasure Pier (where I couldn't find a single pleasure to be had, unless you count Schadenfreude), and the way the train tips you out into what appears to be a mini red light district.

I couldn't help thinking that in just four years time a place that at the moment has all the charm of a faded turd will have to be polished into something that won't be overwhelmigly shameful to see. The Olympics (of which I'm not a big fan) is not that far away, and Weymouth will be hosting the sailing events. It's just my opinion, but whatever people may say, sailing is not a poor person's sport, while Weymouth is very much a poor person's holiday resort. I know the supposed point of hosting the Olympics is regeneration, but there just isn't the time or money to fix Weymouth as well as London... I wonder what an international crowd of yachting enthusiasts will make of it...

Anyhoo, enough negativity. On the positive side, the kids loved it, there are some lovely examples of old seaside architecture, I found a good book in a charity shop and an OK pub to sit and read it in, and I know that the old Weymouth, over the river is a lot nicer than the centre, where I was. But then, I was looking for graffiti, so it's the tatty tourist bit I was after. This was taken down towards the Sealife centre, where I was dropping ladies and the children, and I'm really pleased with it. This is a great heart, and as I was taking it my cynical side was thinking 'should be a seller', and the landscape side sums Weymouth up too I think. Faded, tatty, but optimistic.