Skegness is an English seaside town on the North Sea coast of Lincolnshire with 19,579 residents. The original Skegness was situated farther east but much of it was lost to the sea in the 1520s after the natural sea defences which protected its medieval harbour eroded. Rebuilt along the new shoreline, early modern Skegness was a fishing and farming village. From the late 18th century members of the local gentry visited for holidays. After the railways arrived in 1873, the major landowner turned the town into a seaside resort. It became a popular destination for holiday-makers from East Midlands factory towns such as Nottingham and Leicester. Despite the advent of the package holiday abroad in the 1970s, Skegness has a loyal visitor base; it has attracted new tourists and its affordability has fuelled a rise in visitor numbers since the 2010s recession. With a reputation as a traditional English seaside resort, the town received over 1.4 million visitors in 2015.

Read more: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Skegness

_______________________________ Today's selected anniversaries:

1853:

Solomon Northup regained his freedom after having been sold into slavery in the American South; his memoir Twelve Years a Slave later became a national bestseller. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Solomon_Northup

1912:

The Boy Scouts Association was incorporated throughout the British Empire by royal charter. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Scout_Association

1951:

Korean War: Chinese and North Korean troops captured Seoul from United Nations forces. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Third_Battle_of_Seoul

2018:

A passenger train collided with a truck and derailed in the Free State, South Africa, killing 21 people and injuring 254 others. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hennenman%E2%80%93Kroonstad_train_crash

_____________________________ Wiktionary's word of the day:

shorthand: 1. A rough and rapid method of writing by substituting symbols for letters, words, etc. 2. (by extension) Any brief or shortened way of saying or doing something. https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/shorthand

___________________________ Wikiquote quote of the day:

All you hear is time stand still in travel And feel such peace and absolute The stillness still that doesn't end But slowly drifts into sleep The stars are the greatest thing you've ever seen And they're there for you For you alone you are the everything.   --R.E.M. https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/R.E.M.