Leicestershire's favourite holiday resort rolled out the red carpet to give one of its most loyal visitors – 104-year-old Sid Pope – an extra-special welcome.
A surprise reception party was on hand at Skegness's historic Grand Parade to greet the sprightly centenarian, from Branston, in the Vale of Belvoir.
Sid has spent every summer holiday lapping up the sights and sounds of the Lincolnshire seaside town ever since the age of just 10.
Leading the town delegation, which included its Jolly Fisherman mascot and 2014 carnival queens, was Skegness mayor George Saxon.
He said the idea of the welcome party resulted from a phone call from bus driver with A&P Travel, which regularly ferries Sid on his annual summer holiday.
Mr Saxon said: "It was the bus company that rang me to tell me they were bringing this 104-year-old gentlemen, Sid Pope, was visiting us, and could I come and meet him.
"I said I'd be glad to, thinking, well, it's the very least I could do for such a loyal visitor to our town.
"For him to have been coming to Skegness on holiday every year since he was just a 10-year-old boy is truly incredible."
Mr Saxon arranged for the Jolly Fisherman – who is, coincidentally, also 104 this year – and the rest of the party to welcome their VIP guest.
A bewildered Sid told BBC Radio Lincolnshire his surprise reception was "absolutely marvellous".
"This was the place to come," he said. "I like it because the air is so fresh here."
Sid said the resort, renowned over the past century for welcoming 'chisit' visitors from Leicester during the city's traditional July holiday fortnight, had not changed that much over the years.
"The surroundings of Skegness have (changed) but not Skegness itself," he said. "It's more or less the same as it always was."
Sid was treated by the mayor to a traditional fish and chip lunch, his favourite food, and to a tipple of his favourite drink at the town's Marine pub.
Sid said drinking Scotch whiskey had helped him to live a long life, adding that he intended to keep visiting Skegness for years to come.
"I haven't thrown my chips in yet!," he said.
Mr Saxon said it was wonderful to meet Sid when he arrived at the resort on Thursday.
"For someone who's 104, you wouldn't know it," he said. "I was surprised at just how sprightly he was and walked with me all the way from the Embassy Theatre to the pub, which is about 700 yards."
Mr Saxon told the BBC: "He's got all his faculties and said he loves the fresh air here in Skegness – we've always been saying it's good for you, Skeggy, it's bracing.
"And touch of Scotch at night. Well, you can't beat that for a life, can you?"
Skeggy and the 'chisits':
While Skegness is popularly known as Skeg or Skeggy, the nickname for Leicestrian visitors to the seaside town is "chisits".
The affectionate term refers to the question 'How much is it?', which people from Leicester are renowned for saying.
It is often heard in the town's shops and arcades during the traditional July fortnight mass exodus of tourists from Leicester.
In the 1850s, Skegness was a village with less than 400 inhabitants.
It became more popular with the coming of the railway to the town in the 1870s, making it possible for working class people to spend a day at the seaside.
A poster commissioned by Great Northern Railway in 1908, featuring the Jolly Fisherman mascot and the slogan 'Skegness is so bracing', helped put the resort on the map.
The first Butlin's holiday resort was opened by Billy Butlin in Skegness in 1936 – helping to make it one of the UK's best known seaside towns.
Skegness has suffered under the popularity of cheap foreign package holidays, but it is still popular with families from the East Midlands.