In the battle against climate change, it’s fair to say corporate giants have a greater responsibility when it comes to making big changes. 

That’s why multinational hospitality company Hilton has launched ‘taste of zero waste’ menus at four of its flagship UK hotels until the end of May. 

MailOnline went along to try the menu at Hilton London Metropole, which features delicacies such as cod tongues, ox heart and salmon cheeks.  

The £40 menu showcases ‘innovative techniques’ to combat food waste and underused cuts of meat that would usually be thrown away. 

Avoiding food waste is crucial in the fight against climate change because when food waste rots, it releases methane, a powerful greenhouse gas. 

The £40 menu showcases ‘innovative techniques’ to combat food waste and underused cuts of meat that would usually be thrown away. Pictured, ox heart (left) and salmon cheeks (right)

Zero waste menus are launching at four Hilton hotels – Hilton London Metropole (pictured), London Hilton on Park Lane, Hilton Manchester Deansgate and DoubleTree by Hilton Brighton Metropole

I thought Hilton may have taken note of Silo, the trendy eatery that describes itself as the world’s first zero waste restaurant.

But Paul Bates, executive head chef at Hilton London Metropole, told me that Hilton’s ‘taste of waste’ menu was not inspired by the east London establishment at all. 

Instead, trying to create as little waste as possible in a professional kitchen is something chefs in the industry were doing over 20 years ago. 

Now, as the link between food waste and climate change becomes more apparent, Hilton wants other kitchens to take note. 

‘If I saw young chefs throw food in the bin I’d say, ‘what do you think you’re doing?” Chef Bates told MailOnline. 

‘We were taught to use things – use the bones to make stock.’ 

With the new menu, the chef is using unusual cuts of meat that are often overlooked and therefore tend to be cheaper, while using offcuts leftover during food prep. 

To start there’s three crispy cod tongues, deep fried in breadcrumbs and served with gribiche sauce, made from hardboiled eggs from the morning’s breakfast bar.

I was expecting something soft and slippery, but the texture of the tongues is firmer than this, almost like squid. 

The flavour, however, is very familiar – exactly like any other cut of cod I’ve tasted. What a revelation! 

I’d definitely eat a box of six cod tongues if they were served up at my local chippy, but unfortunately the little morsels tend to get discarded when the fish are filleted. 

That seems crazy to me, especially considering cod are one of the most overfarmed fish in British waters and populations are ‘critically low’, according to a report last year. 

Pictured, cod tongues with gribiche (a French egg sauce) which has been made from hardboiled eggs leftover from the morning’s breakfast bar

Pictured, a skewer of chicken hearts on top of chicken mince on toast, which includes potato skins in the bread mix

Pictured, Paul Bates, executive head chef at Hilton London Metropole, who wants other chefs to think about what they throw in the bin

The salmon cheeks – served with outer lettuce leaves and sauce made of salmon heads – are less surprising because they have the same texture as any other part of the salmon. 

Next up I try a skewer of chicken hearts served on chicken mince on toast, which includes potato skins in the bread mix. 

I’ve tasted chicken hearts before at Brazilian barbeque restaurants – they’re squidgy and salty and much more appetising than they sound.

While Hilton’s little hearts don’t quite compare, the mince on toast – using little offcuts of chicken flesh meticulously scraped from the bones – is clever, like a light bolognaise. 

The ox heart, meanwhile, has been cut into sections that look ‘just like steak’ and then finely sliced into leaf-shaped portions, laid on top of potato skin risotto. 

Although I love offal, it has a slight toughness and ‘squeakiness’ that makes me think other Hilton diners will wish they’d ordered the rump steak.

For me, the highlight is easily the vegetable korma, served with ‘sticky rice biscuit’ – a compact disc of rice fried until crunchy on one side.

The highlight of the evening was the vegetable korma, with root and spring vegetables, sticky rice biscuit, tomato and coriander stalks

I usually mock anyone who orders a korma, but this one – made with tiny herb and vegetable trimmings – has a real spicy kick.   

Generally, I’m surprised by the size of the dishes – much smaller than the promo photos had suggested when Hilton announced the initiative. 

But this is a defence against what Bates calls ‘plate waste’ – food that comes back on diners’ plates that can’t be served up again or reused. 

The smaller the portions, the less likely it is that food will be leftover on the plates when they come back to the kitchen – and the more likely that diners will give the menu a go. 

‘With this particular menu it’s done in a tapas style,’ Bates told MailOnline. 

‘People will risk a starter but they won’t risk a main course.’ 

To finish is a gorgeous bread and butter pudding made with jam and leftover pastries, again from the morning’s breakfast. 

During what is a global struggle to reduce meat consumption, surely it says a lot that the two tastiest dishes – the korma and the pudding – are both vegetarian. 

Bread and butter pudding made with leftover jam and pastries, served with blueberry and fudge, caramel sauce

Hilton London Metropole (pictured) is one of four Hiltons trying out this zero waste initiative, although its £40 set menu is unique

Hilton’s zero waste menu certainly makes such an interesting change from standard restaurant fare, like burger, steak and pasta.

The thing is, I’m probably a lot more adventurous than the average British diner when it comes to trying unusual ingredients.

Unfortunately, the majority may be so rooted their comfort zone that the thought of eating tongues and hearts makes them squirm – a great shame. 

Although Hilton’s taste of zero waste only runs until the end of May, Chef Bates said some of the dishes could make a reappearance and that Hilton will be adapting the zero waste ethos more in the future. 

Perhaps its real legacy will be getting chefs and customers alike to start a conversation about our costly food wastage habit as we enter an uncertain future. 

Zero waste menus are available at four Hilton hotels – London Hilton on Park Lane, Hilton Manchester Deansgate, Hilton London Metropole and DoubleTree by Hilton Brighton Metropole – until the end of May. 

While Hilton London Metropole has a £40 set menu, the other three are offering mains starting from £14 and entrees and desserts starting from £8. 

If you drive a particularly big car, you could be fined for parking in some public car parks.

That’s because five local councils have introduced length restrictions on vehicles using their parking facilities, with most setting a limit at 5 metres, which is shorter than a Range Rover and Mercedes-Benz S-Class.

And more than nine in ten councils have said they have no intention of making their parking bays bigger to accommodate today’s much larger vehicles, which are said to be growing 1cm wider every two years.

Five local councils in the UK have introduced length restrictions for vehicles using their car parks. Find out if your car is deemed too long to park in one

Automotive title, Autocar, sent Freedom of Information request to every UK councils to inquire about any future plans to expand the size of parking spaces, given that regulations around the minimum dimensions of an off-street bay haven’t changed for over 50 years.

Since the 1970s, the smallest a car parking space can be is 2.4 metres wide and 4.8 metres long.

However, the size of passenger cars has grown dramatically since.

This is primarily a result of a combination of both modern car design and stricter safety standards, including the requirement for larger crumple zones and more reinforcements to protect drivers and passengers in crashes.

In fact, the study revealed that seven out of the top 10 best-selling car brands in the UK last year produce at least one car that exceeds this length.

Yet 91.8 per cent of the 287 authorities that responded to Autocar’s request said they have no intention of increasing the size of their council-run car parking spaces to accommodate today’s much larger motors.

To make matters worse, five UK councils already impose maximum length restrictions on vehicles, putting the drivers of many big-selling models at risk of receiving fines when using council-run facilities. 

Among the cars sold in the UK that is too big to park in Wokingham, South Hams, Broadland and South Norfolk, and West Devon council-operated car parks is the 5,172mm-long Audi A8

At 5,391mm long, BMW’s current 7 Series and electric i7 is banned from using all five council’s public car parks due to exceeding the length restrictions

The BMW X7 is another substantially-long model that exceeds some council-operated parking restrictions

The Kia EV9 is the Korean’ firm’s latest electric SUV and measures in at a whopping 5,015mm long

Five councils in total said they expressly ban cars from parking in their car parks if they exceed a specific length. 

Wokingham, South Hams, Broadland and South Norfolk, and West Devon all have in place a restriction of 5 metres.

Cars including the Audi A8 and Kia’s electric EV9 SUV exceed this restriction and are therefore deemed ‘unparkable’, as is the latest Range Rover and both the Tesla Model S and Model X EVs. 

Thurrock council imposes a slightly more lenient length restriction of 5.35 metres, which means owners of BMW’s 7 Series (5,319mm) and Land Rover’s Defender 130 (5,358mm) will be fined if they use these authority-ran car parks. 

Height and weight restrictions are also in place in these and other council-operated car parks. 

Thurrock council imposes a slightly more lenient length restriction of 5.35 metres, which means owners of Land Rover’s Defender 130 (5,358mm) will be fined if they use these authority-ran car parks

The Mercedes-Benz S-Class measures in at an extensive 5,210mm long, which is far bigger than a standard-size parking bay in the UK

The latest Range Rover – even the short-wheelbase model – is more than 5 metres long

Rolls-Royce’s £300,000 Cullinan SUV is another car that far exceeds the 5 metre length restriction imposed by some councils

Both the Tesla Model S (left) and Model X (right) are longer than 5 metres, meaning they are ‘unparkable’ in some council-operated public car parks

Why are cars getting bigger? 

With hardly any councils planning to increase the size of their parking bays, the study says drivers of the largest motors – especially hulking SUVs – will find it increasingly hard to park without risking punishment if the current trend of growing car dimensions continues.

Based on a sample of 27 popular models on sale both in 2018 and today, the report found that the average increase in vehicle length is 3.8 inches (97.6mm).

The car in the sample which has grown the most is the Peugeot 208, which is nearly 580mm (22.8in) longer than it was in 2018. 

The luxury BMW 7 Series – which starts from just over £100,000 – has grown nearly a foot longer, meaning it is too long for the vast majority of parking spaces in the UK. 

A similar study carried out earlier this year by green campaign group, Transport & Environment, found that the average new car sold in the UK is getting 1cm wider biannually.

As a result, many SUVs and larger family-friendly models are wider than kerb-side on-street parking spaces in London – with T&E claiming they are bullying other transport users, especially cyclists, off the road. 

Wide load: Transport & Environment says the wider cars are not only unable to park in on-street bays, they are leaving less room for other transport users and bullying cyclists off the road

Mark Tisshaw, editor of Autocar Business, said: ‘We know that cars are getting longer and wider, typically due to ever-stricter crash and safety legislation they must meet, and these figures show too few councils are adapting to this new reality. 

‘Fewer than one in 10 of them plan to increase the size of their parking bays and, in some regions, you run the risk of receiving a fine for parking a car the size of a BMW 7 Series.

‘Space sizes should reflect the UK vehicle parc, so motorists can park without fear of damaging other vehicles or being fined for overstepping a bay. 

‘The fact it’s almost impossible to find the parking restrictions online – with drivers often forced to read the small print on physical signage at the location to understand the precise rules – only adds to the difficulties faced by motorists.’

Mike Hawes, SMMT chief exec

Since 2018, Autocar found that councils have issued more than 357,000 Penalty Charge Notices (PCNs) for cars parked outside marked bays since 2018, raking in more than £8million over this period.

Mike Hawes, chief executive at the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders, which represents car makers in Britain, has defended the increasing size of the latest vehicles.

He told This is Money that new cars are getting bigger in order to improve safety and to allow for cleaner powertrains to be used to slash emissions.

‘Modern cars are packed with advanced safety technology that protects passengers and other road users, from airbags to crumple zones, all of which contribute to vehicles being larger than before,’ Mr Hawes said.

‘Cars also increasingly accommodate electric batteries and motors rather than just engines which can affect size and shape. 

‘Ultimately, however, it is consumers that influence vehicle design with manufacturers responding to market tastes and preferences and ensuring that all cars – irrespective of size and body type – meet relevant regulations.’

How to quickly check the length of your car 

If you don’t want to go outside with a tape measure, there’s an easy way to find out the dimensions – including the length – of your car.

Website Parkers has a car specs checker, which allows you to enter your number plate and it will provide all the specifications for your particular model.

This includes dimensions in section 3, which tells you the length of your car in millimetres with the wing mirrors out. 

Whether it’s by translating forgotten texts or uncovering lost artefacts, archaeologists are constantly edging towards a better understanding of the past. 

Yet even as archaeological techniques advance, some mysteries have remained stubbornly mysterious. 

From the bizarre Roman ‘holey jar’ to unexplained six-foot stone spheres in Costa Rica, the origins and uses for some artefacts have been long since lost to time. 

But much to archaeologists’ frustration, the lack of evidence has not stopped wild theories and rampant speculation surrounding these five baffling objects. 

Lorena Hitchens, an archaeologist and PhD candidate at Newcastle University, told MailOnline: ‘For some people, an unsolved mystery is really hard to accept.’

From the strange ‘holey’ Roman jar to the six-foot tall stone spheres of Costa Rica, these five strange objects still baffle archaeologists to this day 

The Towie Ball

When you think about archaeological mysteries, your mind might leap to grand structures like the Library of Alexandria or the city of Troy.

But in reality, some of history’s most fascinating and mysterious objects are much more simple.

The Towie Ball is a 531g (1.2 lbs) ball of black stone believed to have been carved by Neolithic people in Scotland more than 5,000 years ago.

Three of the ball’s four carved faces are marked by intricate swirling patterns while the last remains strangely blank. 

Despite being discovered in 1860, the reason this strange object was made largely remains a mystery.

The Towie Ball (pictured) is a 531g (1.2 lbs) ball of black stone believed to have been carved by Neolithic people in Scotland more than 5,000 years ago

What makes this puzzle all the more frustrating is that this is just one of around 430 different stone balls found mainly along the eastern coast of Scotland.

While hundreds were found, many were considered curios and were sold or sat gathering dust in private collections.

This has made it difficult to know exactly where and when they were made, adding another layer of confusion for archaeologists to contend with.  

One popular theory is that these were a form of high-status weapon among stone-age people in the area.

Writers in the 19th Century thought that the grooves could have held ropes used to convert the stones into mace heads or load them into a sling.

A 2007 research paper even suggests that their rough surface could have been intended to reduce air resistance and make them more deadly as thrown weapons.

However, in a recent book on the stone balls of Scotland, Dr Chris Stewart-Moffitt of the University of Aberdeen points out that these theories ignore key evidence.

Not only are the balls remarkably undamaged despite their great age, but other random stones would have been just as effective as weapons without needing to be carved.

Dr Stewart Moffitt writes: ‘We have no actual proof that they were used offensively or defensively… to consider them to be weapons is to seriously miss the point.’

Instead, Dr Moffitt suggests that the balls could have had a symbolic rather than practical purpose.

He suggests that the round shape could have evoked the circular shape of homes while the ridges may have stood for the hills and valleys of Scotland.

However, despite our best guesses, the true origin of these objects is likely to remain lost to time. 

Nobody knows quite why this object was created but recent studies propose they had a symbolic purpose, with the grooves representing the rivers and valleys of the Scottish landscape

The Antikythera mechanism

The origins of the Antikythera mechanism sound like something straight from the pages of a thriller novel.  

In 1900, a group of sponge divers were taking refuge from a sudden storm near the island of Antikythera, not far from modern-day Crete. 

When the storm subsided and the divers decided to try their luck near the island, they stumbled upon a shipwreck laden with beautiful stone statues.

But, almost forgotten among those other treasures, subsequent excavations found a book-sized lump of corroded metal.

When experts at the National Archeological Museum in Athens split the metal apart, it revealed an intricate construction of precision gears and dials.

Containing 30 gears, some with teeth no more than a millimetre wide, and thousands of carved characters, the Antikythera mechanism is staggeringly complex. 

Believed to date back to at least 60 to 70 BC, it was not believed possible that the ancient Greeks were capable of creating such a device. 

The Antikythera mechanism was found submerged in an ancient shipwreck near the Island of Antikythera, not far from modern-day Crete

Believed to date back to at least 60 to 70 BC, this mechanical computer contains 30 gears with teeth as small as one millimetre 

More than 100 years of research has revealed that the so-called Antikythera mechanism is actually a highly complex astronomical calculator. 

In a 2021 paper, a team of UCL researchers used X-ray images and ancient Greek mathematical analysis to reconstruct what the device may have looked like. 

They claimed that it is ‘a mechanical computer of bronze gears that used ground-breaking technology to make astronomical predictions, by mechanizing astronomical cycles and theories.’

This complex mechanism could predict the movements of the sun, moon, and the five planets known to the Ancient Greeks with incredible detail.

Lead researcher Professor Tony Free and his co-authors add that this ‘creation of genius’ combines Babylonian astronomy, Platonic mathematics, and ancient Greek theories of astronomy. 

Experts have reconstructed the device’s design and claim it was used to work out the locations of the sun, moon, and five planets known to the Ancient Greeks 

While we now know what the device was used for, many mysteries still persist.

Most notably, researchers are yet to determine why it would take centuries for anything this complex to be reinvented. 

Even more baffling is the fact that the Antikythera device remains the only object of its type to have been discovered. 

There would have certainly been earlier or later models of similar devices made, but these have remained frustratingly elusive. 

Ultimately, as the researchers conclude in Scientific Reports: ‘It challenges all our preconceptions about the technological capabilities of the ancient Greeks.’

No object like it has yet been found, raising the question of why it took centuries for ancient scientists to create anything as complex 

The holey jar

The so-called ‘holey jar’ is exactly what it sounds like: a jar with holes in it.

But experts are still baffled why this 1,800 year-old Roman jar would have been made riddled with holes. 

The jar was found shattered into 180 pieces and was painstakingly pieced back together by experts at the Museum of Ontario Archeology.

But, even putting this strange object back together didn’t shed any light on the mystery. 

Katie Urban, one of the researchers at Museum of Ontario Archaeology told LiveScience: ‘Everyone’s stumped by it, we’ve been sending it around to all sorts of Roman pottery experts and other pottery experts, and no one seems to be able to come up with an example.’

The ‘holey jar’ is believed to be a 1,800-year-old Roman artefact, but no expert has yet been able to come up with a theory as to what it could have been used for

Some theories propose that it could have been used by the Romans to store live dormice while they were fattened up to be eaten. 

The problem is that other dormice jars from the Roman world are quite different, and were equipped with interior ramps to help the rodents run around.

The matter is made worse by the muddled history of the jar’s discovery. 

In the 1950s, archaeologist William Francis Grimes gave the jar to the museum, saying he had dug it out of a World War II bomb crater near a Roman temple to Mithras.

But Ms Urban says this is uncertain since the vessel does not appear on the list of artefacts given by Grimes to the museum. 

And with its origins shrouded in mystery and nothing to compare it to, the intended use of the holey jar remains unknown. 

It was claimed to have been found near a temple to Mithras in London (pictured), but the evidence for this is doubtful – leaving its true origins a mystery 

Roman dodecahedra 

From walls and aqueducts to roads that are still followed to this day, the Roman occupation of Britain left behind an indelible mark on the country.

However, not all of the artefacts left behind by four centuries of Roman rule are so easy to interpret. 

Some of the most puzzling objects from the Celtic fringes of the Roman Empire are a series of 12-sided objects simply known as Roman dodecahedra.

So far, 33 of these unusual objects have been discovered in Britain including a recent discovery of a 3in-tall (8cm) bronze dodecahedron found in Lincolnshire. 

While the objects vary in size and decoration they frequently have a series of different-sized holes on each face and round balls on each corner. 

As beautiful and fascinating as these objects may be, studying them has proved to be a fiendishly difficult challenge.  

In the UK, archaeologists have found 33 12-sided shapes believed to have been made during the Roman occupation of Britain, but their purpose is unknown 

Lorena Hitchens, who is studying Roman dodecahedra for her PhD at Newcastle University, told MailOnline that the true use of these objects is ‘still a mystery’.

Ms Hitchens says: ‘Romans did not visually depict or write about dodecahedra. There are no inscriptions, texts, or images.

‘It would be great if a mosaic, painting, or long-lost classical text were discovered that explained everything about dodecahedra! It doesn’t seem likely at this point, but you never know.’

The puzzle has been made even more difficult by the fact that they were highly prized by collectors in the 18th century.

The resulting ‘horse trading’ means that many of the artefacts became divorced from their archaeological context, making it tricky to piece the details together.

While they vary in size, most of the dodecahedra have different-sized holes on each face and balls attached to the corners 

Finding new dodecahedra buried in their original location could be extremely valuable to understanding these objects. 

The Norton Disney Historical and Archeological group, which discovered the most recent object, plan further excavations this summer which could reveal more details. 

The dodecahedra are also unique in their design, which means that archaeologists have nothing to compare them with to shed light on their potential usage. 

This hasn’t stopped various non-academic sources from making all sorts of comparisons to modern objects.

Ms Hitchens says that the guessing game approach has led to ‘an unproductive, frustrating guessing game with no proof in any direction.’

She added: ‘This kind of speculation is not based on real evidence. Sometimes people see what they want to see when they look at dodecahedra.’ 

One of these strange objects was recently featured on the BBC’s Digging for Britain, in which Professor Alice Roberts (pictured) was baffled by the bizarre object

For example, in what Ms Hitchens says is her least favourite suggestion, it is often claimed that they were used as a type of knitting aid. 

While it is possible to use the balls on the corners of the object to weave tubes of material there is no evidence that these objects were ever used in this way.  

Ms Hitchens says that her own research is making progress and has yielded new data but any definitive answers are still a long way off. 

She concludes: ‘Will we ever solve it? I can’t say yet, but, can we understand them better than we do now? Absolutely.’

The Diquís Spheres

Any fan of Indiana Jones will know that an archaeologist’s biggest nightmare is a large round boulder.

That has proven true of the Costa Rica stone spheres, often called the Diquís Spheres, which have have resisted understanding for almost a century. 

But while Indy might have spent his days fleeing boulders, archaeologists from all around the world have flocked to the island Isla del Caño and the Diquís Delta where hundreds can be found. 

Almost perfectly round and up to two meters (six feet) tall, no one knows why so much effort was put into carving these bizarre objects. 

Costa Rica is home to hundreds of carved stone spheres, some up to six feet tall. However, experts have no good theories as to why they were made by the extinct Diquís people who flourished on the island before the Spanish conquest

Archaeologists now believe that they are the product of the long-extinct Diquís people, who flourished on the island between 700 and 1530 AD. 

However, with the arrival Spanish conquest, the true meaning of these objects was lost to time. 

Speaking about the spheres in 2010, Professor John Hoopes of the University of Kansas said: ‘We really don’t know why they were made, the people who made them didn’t leave any written records.

‘The culture of the people who made them became extinct shortly after the Spanish conquest. So, there are no myths or legends or other stories that are told by the indigenous people of Costa Rica about why they made these spheres.’

Careful study shows that the objects were ground into shape, but since so many were moved from their original locations it has been extremely difficult to figure out what they could have been used for

After their discovery in the 1930s, the majority of the spheres were moved from their original locations and some were even sold as lawn ornaments. 

As with so many of these mysterious objects, without their original context it is even harder for experts to understand why they might have been created.  

The absence of any definitive answer and the balls’ sophisticated construction have led to some particularly imaginative speculation.

Internet theories propose that the balls’ may have been left behind by aliens or ancient super-civilisations.

Professor Hoopes adds: ‘Myths are really based on a lot of very rampant speculation about imaginary ancient civilizations or visits from extraterrestrials.’

We now know that the spheres were made by grinding roughly carved granite rocks down into smooth, polished surfaces.  

However Earthly their origins, the real meaning of the Diquís Spheres is likely to remain forever unknown. 

WHAT DO WE KNOW ABOUT EUROPEAN MIGRATIONS DURING THE BRONZE AGE? 

Experts combine data from data from archaeology, anthropology, genetics and linguistics to determine likely migration patterns.

According to the Kurgan hypothesis, pictured below, people living on the Pontic steppe north of the Black Sea were the most likely speakers of a Proto-Indo-European language.

Experts combine data from data from archaeology, anthropology, genetics and linguistics to determine likely migration patterns. A map of the hypothesised Indo–European migrations from 4000–1000 BC

Most modern Europeans are descendants of a mixture of European hunter-gatherers, Anatolian early farmers and Steppe herders. 

However, the DNA of ancient Siberians can also be found in European speakers of Uralic languages, like Estonian and Finnish.  

A 2015 study in Nature suggested that there was a large migration of people from north of the Black Sea into Eastern, Central and Western Europe that started at around 2,800 BC. 

Gold has long been considered the ultimate safe haven asset. When things go horribly pear shaped in the world – be it a financial crisis or geopolitical confrontation (war, or the threat of it) – it is the asset that investors turn to and often reap rich rewards from.

Look at a gold price chart spanning the last 54 years (adjusted for UK inflation) and you can clearly see the various spikes triggered by world crises: for example, the 1973 oil crisis, causing petrol prices in the UK to rocket skywards; the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan in late 1979; the banking crisis of 2008; and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine more than two years ago.

This year, the gold price has been rising again, both in dollar and pound terms. Its sterling price, expressed in pounds per troy ounce, now stands at around £1,889, compared to just above £1,624 at the start of the year. An increase of more than 16 per cent.

To put this figure into perspective, the FTSE100 Index, the barometer of the stock market performance of the biggest companies listed in the UK, has risen by around 9 per cent over the same period (and in the process has hit a series of new record highs).

Strangely, in City circles, most of the recent investment talk has all been about the booming UK stock market, not gold. The resurgence of gold has largely gone under the radar.

Maybe it’s because it is telling us something that we don’t necessarily want to hear – namely that the world is becoming increasingly dangerous and that the West may at some stage in the next few years be dragged into conflicts bigger than any it has faced since the ending of the Second World War in 1945.

As the head of the British Armed Forces, Admiral Sir Tony Radakin, said on Wednesday, ‘simmering tensions’ across the world ‘are coming to the boil’.

The buoyant gold price this year is not a reflection of a massive surge in UK investor interest – although the latest data from online bullion marketplace BullionVault indicates that last month there was strong demand in the UK from a mix of existing and first-time investors. Both Chinese and Indian households also continue to love their gold. No, it is more to do with the beasts in the east: China and Russia.

Take the People’s Republic of China. Since late 2022, it has been quietly filling its boots with gold (18 successive months of net purchases).

In other words, its thirst for gold has driven up demand – and according to the basic economic laws of supply and demand, that means ever higher prices. China’s official data shows it has amassed a gold stockpile worth more than $170 billion (£135 billion). 

At the same time, it has been busy disposing of its official holdings in US Treasury Bonds – $400 billion worth since 2021. These moves have been interpreted by some experts as signs that China is building a war chest in the event of a massive fallout with the United States over Taiwan – an island that China views as its own territory and which the US has promised to protect if there is an invasion from its near neighbour across the Taiwan Strait.

Jonathan Eyal, associate director of the UK-based defence think-tank the Royal United Services Institute (RUSI), sits in this camp.

Last month, he described China’s relentless purchasing of gold as a ‘political project which is prioritised by the leadership in Beijing because of what they see is a looming confrontation with the United States’. Ominously, he added: ‘Of course, it’s connected also to plans for a military invasion of Taiwan’.

While some have accused RUSI of scaremongering (its backers, after all, are defence-orientated companies which do best when governments are spending money on boosting their military arsenals), the fact is geopolitical tensions in the world are higher than they have been for a while.

And for all the soothing words coming from President Xi Jinping in his recent meeting with President Emmanuel Macron in France, they are not going to go away.

In theory, that means that the gold price, not far off record highs, could go even higher. It’s a view that Adrian Ash, director of research at BullionVault, shares.

He says: ‘Anyone looking for a short-term spike in gold prices has probably missed it for now. But the fact remains that both China and Russia have been – and are – buying gold in the open market and very probably from their own domestic output too. They are also implicated in small scale gold mining camps across Africa and South America.

‘They are far from alone in growing their country’s gold reserves as a way of trying to sidestep – or prepare for – Western financial sanctions. This buying should support the gold price.’

And of course, the gold price thrives on adversity. So, as long as pariahs such as Putin and North Korea’s Kim Jong Un threaten the world order with their missiles, Xi Jinping craves Taiwan, and the West grapples with a mix of high interest and indebtedness, gold should continue to shine.

Building your own gold war chest

Most – but not all – investment experts say that gold should be bought as part of a diversified investment portfolio. Its main role, they say, is as a counterpoint: doing well when other assets are faltering and vice versa.

It’s a traditional asset allocation view which Dzmitry Lipski, head of fund research at investment platform Interactive Investor, expounds. He says that between 5 and 10 per cent of an investor’s wealth in gold ‘is a good rule of thumb’. Wealth is defined as investable wealth – so excludes the family home and any company pension.

Spread the risk: Most investment experts say that gold should be bought as part of a diversified investment portfolio

Lipski also says that investors should take a long-term view – and hold gold for at least three or five years. Trying to time the market, he says, can result in investors missing out, because price surges can be sudden – as can price falls.

Lipski is right up to a point. More than any other asset, it is sentiment that drives the gold price higher or lower. Financial anxiety and geopolitical stress push it higher while the opposite drive it lower. Sentiment can change rapidly, catching out investors.

Yet the performance numbers don’t overwhelmingly back the long-term investment approach that Mr Lipski and plenty of other authoritative financial experts espouse.

Annual return figures crunched by BullionVault indicate that holding gold long-term adds little sparkle to the overall returns generated by a diversified portfolio.

For example, over the past 50 years, a portfolio invested 60 per cent in equities (split equally between UK and global stocks) and 40 per cent in bonds (half UK gilts, half corporate bonds) would have generated an annual return of 5.6 per cent net of inflation.

If 10 per cent of this portfolio had been invested in gold, (so 10 per cent gold, 54 per cent equities and 36 per cent bonds), the annual return would have been the same. If gold had represented 20 per cent, the annual return would have been marginally lower at 5.5 per cent.

Admittedly, gold improves overall annual returns over both 10 and 25 years. So over 10 years, the respective annual returns are 3.5 (no gold), 3.7 (10 per cent gold) and 3.9 per cent (20 per cent gold). Yet the added value is marginal. Over 25 years, the numbers are 3.6, 4.1 and 4.5 per cent.

Some investors would be perfectly happy with these marginal extra gains generated from holding gold. Indeed, BullionVault’s Ash says many of his company’s clients first opened their accounts either during the financial crisis of 2008 or in the 2020 pandemic.

But an alternative approach is for investors to manage gold holdings more aggressively. That means absorbing research from analysts on where the gold price is heading, keeping a keen eye on the news – and increasing or decreasing holdings accordingly. It requires an investment in time and decisiveness.

What are the experts saying about gold?

On the up: Most analysts are bullish about the prospects for the gold price 

Most analysts are bullish about the prospects for the gold price in the coming months. Their forecasts are made in dollars, not pounds.

Last month, Goldman Sachs upped its price target for gold by the end of the year from $2,300 to $2,700 per ounce – the current price is around $2,315. So, an anticipated increase of more than 16 per cent.

Among the factors it says that support a higher price is the buying of gold by central banks, uncertainty caused by the impending US elections and the ‘fear’ of possible financial and monetary chaos in the United States.

Bank of America is even more optimistic. Michael Widmer, the bank’s commodity strategist, says the price could hit $3,000 by next year, especially if interest rates start coming down in the United States, making non-interest paying gold more appealing to US buyers against interest paying assets such as cash. If correct, this would imply a 30 per cent gain.

The boldest prediction is from Swiss Bank, which says the gold price could nearly double to $4,000 in the next two to three years.

The most cautious is Swiss bullion refiner MKS Pamp which recently increased its 2024 price forecast from $2,050 to $2,200, with a possible price range from $2,000 to $2,475.

Robert Crayfourd, a commodities and metals fund manager at CQS (part of Manulife), is in no doubt that investors should be increasing their exposure to gold. He says that with demand for gold from central banks remaining ‘strong and sticky,’ any increase in buying from US investors could ‘add a few hundred dollars to the gold price’.

The best strategy… and the danger signs

Ensuring your investment tracks the gold price is essential if you want to take advantage of the kinds of gains forecast by leading analysts (this rules out gold investment funds).

This can be done in two ways – through a gold exchange traded fund, listed on the UK stock market, or buying gold through an online marketplace such as BullionVault that then holds it on your behalf.

The leading gold exchange traded fund is iShares Physical Gold (market ticker SGLN) which has total annual charges of 0.12 per cent. It can be bought through all leading investment platforms – the likes of Hargreaves Lansdown and Interactive Investor.

BullionVault levies a buying and selling charge of 0.5 per cent. There is also a monthly storage charge. For an investment of £7,500, it would charge £37.50 initially and then an annual charge of £39.

The warning bells that scream: ‘sell!’

Signals suggesting it may be time to bank any gains made include: an easing of geopolitical tensions (for example a peace deal struck between Ukraine and Russia); signs that the United States is prepared to tackle its budget deficit and ballooning debt; and a correction in the US equity market, making equities look more attractive against other assets such as gold.

How much should I commit to gold?

This is a decision for you – and you alone. As guidance, BullionVault customers have on average 15 per cent of their wealth in gold (the average holding is £8,500) – while the central banks of the United States, Germany and Italy hold around 65 per cent of their assets in gold.

This suggests the traditional asset allocation model (between 5 and 10 per cent) is underselling gold’s shine.

By Xantha Leatham Deputy Science Editor

Published: 00:36, 12 May 2024 | Updated: 00:44, 12 May 2024

These days, it’s hardly surprising that young women struggle with self-esteem. Impressionable teenagers and young adults are constantly bombarded with images of flawless, slim models online.

But experts have discovered that simply taking a week away from social media can have an enormous impact on young women’s body image.

And those who crave a slender physique appeared to benefit the most.

Researchers from York University in Toronto recruited 66 female undergraduates to take part in their study, which lasted a week. Half were randomly assigned to take a one-week break from social media, which included Instagram, Facebook, Twitter and TikTok, while the other half were told to continue their normal use.

Experts have discovered that simply taking a week away from social media can have an enormous impact on young women’s body image (Stock image)

All completed surveys before and after the study took place, which covered topics such as body image and self-esteem.

Analysis revealed that those who took the break reported having higher body satisfaction and higher self-esteem than those who continued to use social media as normal.

The benefits were especially pronounced for women who had reported higher levels of ‘thin-ideal internalisation’, meaning they believed that slim or underweight was the ideal body type. 

Psychology professor Jennifer Mills, who co-authored the paper, said: ‘We don’t often see effect sizes this large in my area of psychology research because human behaviour is complicated and there’s lots of variability.

Analysis revealed that those who took the break reported having higher body satisfaction and higher self-esteem than those who continued to use social media as normal (Stock image)

‘We hope that this study can be used to help protect young people and influence social media companies to give users more agency in how they interact with these platforms.’

The paper, published in the journal Body Image, is thought to be the first to look specifically at social media breaks and body image. 

Professor Mills said the differences in the social media landscape were remarkable compared to when she started researching eating disorders and the effects of media.

‘Back then, you could only spend so many minutes or hours looking at fashion and beauty magazines and they only came out once a month,’ she said. 

‘There was a finite amount of content that you would be exposed to. With social media, it’s infinite.’

Tony Hetherington is Financial Mail on Sunday’s ace investigator, fighting readers corners, revealing the truth that lies behind closed doors and winning victories for those who have been left out-of-pocket. Find out how to contact him below. 

Wealthy: Noyan Nihat was behind two nuisance call firms

A boss of two financial firms, which have been granted the Financial Conduct Authority’s seal of approval, has been found to be behind two separate companies facing massive fines for making more than a million nuisance calls to elderly and vulnerable victims.

Outsource Strategies Limited and Dr Telemarketing Limited were investigated by the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO), which found the pair had called almost 1.43 million people who had listed their numbers on the Telephone Preference Service’s ‘do not call’ register. The firms have been fined £240,000 and £100,000 respectively.

The calls were made over a 13-month period. The ICO revealed: ‘People who complained said the callers were aggressive and used high-pressure sales tactics to persuade them to sign up for products. The ICO investigation also found evidence that both companies were specifically targeting elderly and vulnerable people.’

At the time of these offences, the sole director of Outsource Strategies was wealthy North London businessman Noyan Nihat. He was also one of two directors at Dr Telemarketing. The other was his long-term business colleague Wayne Phillips, who has since been banned from acting as the director of any UK company.

Meanwhile, Nihat is registered with the watchdog FCA as a director of Monark Global, which also uses the name Tru-Diamonds to trade as an online jewellery business. The FCA registration allows the company to act as a credit broker.

He is also a director and Chief Operating Officer of Privat 3 Money, an electronic payment services firm licensed by the FCA. And he is a member of the Advisory Board of The Payments Association, a leading trade organisation.

According to the FCA Register, Nihat has been approved by the regulator since 2018, and has never faced any disciplinary or regulatory action. This is true, but what the Register does not show is that Nihat was a director and joint owner of a Cardiff company, Mefinance Limited, which was authorised by the FCA, allowing it to sell insurance through telemarketing.

In 2013, I reported how the same firm used telemarketing to drum up business for a consumer magazine called Sapphire.

A Mail on Sunday reader who was called was promised the magazine and a selection of discount vouchers, all on a free 14-day trial.

If she did not cancel within that time, her bank account would be debited with an annual subscription of £79. The reader – a pensioner – received no magazine or vouchers but Mefinance collected its £79 from her bank.

When she protested, she was told it was her own fault for failing to cancel the payment before the free trial period ended. After The Mail on Sunday intervened, the reader received a full refund, and the company itself went into liquidation in 2015.

Even further back, in 2011, Nihat ran a marketing company which represented Vitamail, a notorious mail order firm that issued mailshots giving people the impression they had won thousands of pounds. Winners had to place an order for Vitamail’s health products, after which the goods arrived but the prizes were somehow more elusive.

I asked the FCA how, in the wake of Vitamail and Mefinance, it had felt confident that Nihat would treat customers fairly when it approved him in 2018 to hold a major position at Monark Global. And I also asked the watchdog whether it was now reconsidering its approval, following the huge fines imposed by the Information Commissioner.

The FCA refused to answer. A spokesman told me: ‘We cannot comment on individual firms. We take all information received about the firms we regulate seriously, including fines by other regulators.’

I also invited Nihat to comment on the £340,000 fines faced by the two nuisance call companies he ran. And I asked whether he believed the FCA would also take action. Nihat did not respond.

Crossed wires on O2 exit bill 

Ms K.M. writes: I have been a customer of O2 for nearly 30 years. Last summer I stopped being able to make or receive international calls or texts, which are crucial as I have a property abroad and my Portuguese bank needs to text me a code for every transaction. 

O2 said I needed a bolt-on, and sold me a two-year contract but it did not work. 

It then told me I needed a new contract with a new number, which did work, but now it wants to charge me nearly £300 for leaving it, even though I am not.

Making a splash: O2 told Ms K.M. she needed a new contract with a new number, which did work

Tony Hetherington replies: It was O2’s idea in the first place to sell you a new contract, with a new number, because it had already fallen down on the job by cutting off your international calls. But penalising you to the tune of almost £300, by telling you that you had broken your first contract in order to start the new contract, which O2 itself had sold to you, is beyond ridiculous – it’s marketing madness!

You tried to sort this out with repeated visits to your local O2 shop, but told me: ‘Staff almost got wedged in the back door in a frantic effort to escape when they saw me.’

I was luckier. I asked O2’s head office to intervene and you have had an apology. O2 is now allowing you to switch provider without penalty, so you can forget about the £300 demand. And O2 has told me: ‘We have offered an additional £60 as a gesture of goodwill, which Ms M has accepted.’

If you believe you are the victim of financial wrongdoing, write to Tony Hetherington at Financial Mail, 9 Derry Street, London W8 5HY or email tony.hetherington@mailonsunday.co.uk. Because of the high volume of enquiries, personal replies cannot be given. Please send only copies of original documents, which we regret cannot be returned.