Jade Marvin from Starlight Express gets her skates on for a special number at The Olivier Awards 2025 at The Royal Albert Hall on April 06, 2025 in London, England. (Photo by David Levene/The Guardian)

One of the largest paddle steamers afloat in Britain is the H.M.S. Royal Eagle, former peacetime excursion boat which carried passengers on pleasure jaunts from Tower Bridge to Southend, Ramscate and Margate. Commissioned two years ago as a warship of the Royal Navy, the craft has been in action 52 times against enemy aircraft. The Eagle took part in the evacuation from Dunkirk where she was dive-bombed 48 times and brought home nearly 3,000 British troops. Members of the crew cleaning the paddle boxes of H.M.S. Royal Eagle in London on January 18, 1943. (Photo by AP Photo)

“Snowflake (c. 1964 – November 24, 2003) was an albino gorilla. He was the only known albino gorilla so far, and the most popular resident of the Barcelona Zoo in Catalonia, Spain. Originally named Nfumu Ngui in Fang language ("white gorilla") by his captor, he was then nicknamed Floquet de Neu (Catalan for little snowflake) by his keeper Jordi Sabater Pi. On his arrival to Barcelona where he was given an official reception by the then Mayor of Barcelona, Josep Maria de Porcioles, in November 1966, he was called Blancanieves (“Snow White”) in the newspaper Tele/Exprés. But he became famous with the name given to him by Sabater when National Geographic Magazine featured him on the main page in March 1967, with the English name Snowflake. This name spread among the press (Stern, Life, Paris-Match) and was later translated to Spanish as Copito de Nieve. Sabater himself called the gorilla Floquet or Copi, and in the later years Nfumu. The asteroid 95962 Copito, discovered by Catalan astronomer J. Manteca, is named in his honour”.

A British Army Rolls Royce armoured car outside the Royal Ulster Constabulary police station on York Street in Belfast following riots after an Orange Order parade. (Photo by Fox Photos/Getty Images). 20th June 1935

A Sphynx cat at the 2017 Grand Prix Royal Canin international cat show at the Crocus Expo Exhibition Centre in Moscow, Russia on December 2, 2017. (Photo by Sergei Savostyanov/TASS/Barcroft Images)

“Red Arrows” at the 2016 royal air tattoo, RAF Fairford, UK. By Jonny Williams, finalist: action. (Photo by Jonny Williams/UK National Geographic Traveller Photography Competition 2018)

A woman dressed in traditional costume smiles at the Royal Plaza, as interest for historical clothing rises within the country, in Bangkok, Thailand April 6, 2018. (Photo by Soe Zeya Tun/Reuters)

A cast member from The Lion King goes to take up her position for the performance during The Olivier Awards 2019 with Mastercard at the Royal Albert Hall on April 07, 2019 in London, England. (Photo by David Levene/The Guardian)