Back in England, one of the British soldiers that continue to return in their thousands from Northern France, belies any mood of defeat with some high spirited piping on a train. (Photo by Parker/Fox Photos/Getty Images). 1st June 1940

“Sokolica”. Sokolica, Poland. (Photo and caption by Marcin Kęsek/National Geographic Traveler Photo Contest)

ATTENTION! All pictures are presented in high resolution. To see Hi-Res images – just TWICE click on any picture. In other words, click small picture – opens the BIG picture. Click BIG picture – opens VERY BIG picture.

Nikolai Vasilyev, 64, dressed as Father Frost, the Russian equivalent of Santa Claus, water-skis along the Yenisei River outside the Siberian city of Krasnoyarsk, Russia December 19, 2017. Vasilyev, former teacher of the Siberian State Aerospace University, constructed the water skis out of plastic foam and designed the sticks to propel him forward, while travelling on the water surface. (Photo by Ilya Naymushin/Reuters)

Plebes form a human pyramid to place an upperclassman hat atop the 21-foot vegetable shortening-covered Herndon Monument, a tradition marking the end of their plebe year at the U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland, U.S., May 23, 2022. (Photo by Kevin Lamarque/Reuters)

Festival-goers wash on Shipyard Island, the venue of the 24th Sziget (Island) Festival in Northern Budapest, Hungary, 15 August 2016. The venue, one of the biggest cultural events of Europe, offers art exhibitions, theatrical and circus performances and above all music concerts from 10 to 17 August. (Photo by Szabó Gábor/Origo.hu)

Emma Raducanu of Great Britain hits a return to Belinda Bencic of Switzerland during their quarterfinals round match on the tenth day of the US Open Tennis Championships the USTA National Tennis Center in Flushing Meadows, New York, USA, 08 September 2021. The US Open runs from 30 August through 12 September. (Photo by Justin Lane/EPA/EFE)

A farmer harvests the lotus roots at a lotus pond in the Lingjiaohu Village of Nanxian County, Yiyang City, Central China's Hunan Province on April 26, 2023. Farmers in Lingjiaohu Village of Nanxian County have recently been busy with harvesting lotus roots. (Photo by Xinhua News Agency/Rex Features/Shutterstock)

Kaori Sakamoto, of Japan, performs her women's short program during the Skate Canada International figure skating competition in Vancouver, British Columbia, Friday, October 27, 2023. (Photo by Darryl Dyck/The Canadian Press via AP Photo)