Leo Novak

From Crete to Iceland, Kerala to the Great Lakes: towers standing firm against wind and waves.

Every weekday at twenty past seven, a dozen or more passengers gather on the upper deck of the Saltings ferry to talk about a novel. The crossing takes 35 minutes; the club has lasted three years.

Almost every stall at the weekend market now takes cards after a group deal cut fees, though traders say they will keep accepting coins for regulars who prefer them.

Volunteers launched within minutes of the alarm and found the group clinging to two overturned boats about two kilometres from shore.