Society of Bexhill Museums

OUR last meeting of the year took place on Friday, November 30 to a Victorian Festival of Christmas at Portsmouth Historic Dockyard.

This popular festival transports you back in time to experience the traditions of a Victorian Christmas, as a cast of hundreds re-creates scenes of Christmas past with marching bands, traditional street and fairground entertainments, with Christmas carols and Victorian and Dickensian characters such as Mr Scrooge, and Mr Bumble. In Fagin's Tavern were Bill Sykes, Fagin and his gang.

There was a large gift and craft market, stalls in Georgian colonnades, European-style shopping village and a French market. There was also free admission to the Dockyard and usual attractions such as the Mary Rose, HMS Warrior and the Royal Naval Museum.

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In short, there was something for everyone and everyone had an enjoyable day out, despite the gradually worsening weather.

We left for home at 4pm and arrived in good time despite a long tail-back on the Brighton bypass, which our driver manager cleverly to bypass!