After a week of seeing reports veering between scorn and support of the local Olympic events, I wanted to point out that the experiences my family have had in Weymouth over the last week have been overwhelmingly positive.

The seafront, beach and harbourside look fantastic. Aerial footage on the BBC showed Weymouth and Portland looking beautiful last Sunday.

This is good publicity and shows what we have every year for visitors and locals alike – great natural scenery and lovely buildings.

Local Olympic ambassadors have been so very friendly and helpful, and the atmosphere is great, with people striking up conversation and sharing experiences.

Using a combination of buses, parking at Lodmoor car park (at the normal parking rates) and walking, we managed to get in and out of town. No traffic in the town means that it feels very tranquil and safe.

In various combinations, four generations of my family (aged four to 86) have used the beach Live site, attended the Battle of the Winds Torch Ceremony, visited the b-side festival’s Weymouth exhibit in the Phoenix Bakery, looked at the Lone Twin boat, been to various art shows, gone on a b-side Mis-guided walk, tried a Wessex FM Kids’ Disco in the ICCI dome, spent the day at Greenhill , flown on the Jurassic Airlines simulator, and had lunch at The Stables on the harbourside.

Some of the scheduled events had a charge, most were free, but all of them were interesting, fun or moving.

Tickets are booked for Monday’s first Comedy Night in the dome, and the free sport, more b-side festival and using the land train is on our to-do list.

I would say to everyone who doesn’t think that there’s anything for them to take a stroll or look online: make the most of what’s going on and turn this event into a positive experience.

It has been pointed out on this page that the way Weymouth and Portland is perceived online and in the media reaches a long way, so let’s make our reputation a good one.

Caroline Lester Radipole Lane Weymouth