An Abyssinian cat befriends a judge during a two-day international cat exhibition organized by the World Cat Federation (WCF) in Budapest, Hungary, 18 January 2025. (Photo by Zoltán Balogh/EPA/EFE)

While the lido was described as bringing “modernism to the masses” on the British coast it was just the latest example of a trend that had been developing since Victorian times – transforming seaside towns into resorts for leisure and entertainment. In the latter half of the nineteenth century, the fashion was for local authorities to build great piers stretching from the promenade out into the sea. The Eastbourne Pier, pictured here in May 1931, was erected between 1866 and 1870 to an ingenious design by Eugenius Birch, which saw the structure sitting on special cups allowing the supporting struts to “move” in bad weather. Arranged on the pier's 1,000-foot length were kiosks, a theatre, a ballroom and a camera obscura. 1931. (Photo by Aerofilms Collection via “A History of Britain From Above”)

Visitors take photos of a child dressed in a traditional costume before a folk performance in Panyu, Guangdong province, China on April 20, 2018. (Photo by Reuters/China Daily)

Communist supporters hold portraits of Soviet leader Josef Stalin as they queue to lay flowers at the grave of Stalin to mark the 139th anniversary of his birth, in Moscow's Red Square, Russia, Friday, December 21, 2018. (Photo by Pavel Golovkin/AP Photo)

This photo taken on December 2, 2015 shows a lenticular cloud forming as white streaks from airplanes mark the blue sky, in a rare atmospheric phenomena above the town of Gevgelija on December 2, 2015. Lenticular clouds have been regularly confused for UFOs throughout history due to the their smooth, round or oval lens-shaped structure. (Photo by Armend Nimani/AFP Photo)

An alligator and his reflection seen in the Wakodahatchee Wetlands in Delray Beach, Florida on May 2, 2024. The wetlands attract nature lovers and wildlife photographers and are home to more than 140 bird species and a variety of other wildlife. (Photo by Ronen Tivony/ZUMA Press Wire/Rex Features/Shutterstock)

Tufted capuchin (Sapajus apella) receives a special red envelope containing delicious food to celebrate Chinese New Year at the Chongqing Zoo on January 28, 2025 in Chongqing, China. (Photo by Wang Chengjie/VCG via Getty Images)

Chester Zoo in the second decade of August 2025 has welcomed a pair of tiny golden lion tamarins, named George, seven, and Leaf, 12. (Phoot by Chester Zoo)