• UK to rejoin £85bn EU science scheme Horizon as PM allows deal to be finalised
• Britain has been out the group for two years since Brexit a 

By David Churchill Chief Political Correspondent For The Daily Mail

Updated: 17:45 EDT, 6 September 2023

The summer holidays are here and no trip to the seaside is complete without building an enormous sandcastle to the envy of other beachgoers. 

But as any holidaymaker will know, there’s nothing more frustrating than being halfway through your majestic creation when it collapses in a heap. 

Luckily, a British researcher has now offered a few tips to get the ‘perfect sandcastle’ according to science and make it stand proud for hours. 

Professor Matthew Bennett, a sedimentologist at Bournemouth University, suggests using an 8:1 ratio of sand to water and using jagged shell fragments in the mix. 

He also says you should use a simple round bucket – not a square bucket or one with turrets – which will help keep the mixture compact – and provide you with the sturdy building blocks to build a mighty sand fortress. 

‘Whether we prefer water sports or relaxing with a good book, the humble sandcastle is often a seaside must,’ Professor Bennett said. 

‘The modest castle with perfect towers, battlements and moat is ok, but it is the huge castles which break the beach horizon that inspire awe and wonderment in people that pass by.’ 

The first step is picking the right sand, and the academic says ‘angular’ sand grains help build a strong sandcastle because they can lock together, much like a wall of bricks. 

Circular grains, on the other hand, tend to slide against each other and are therefore a poorer choice – although to the naked eye it can be hard to tell the difference.

If unsure, including small, jagged shell fragments in the mix can help increase this interlocking formation and give the castle more structural integrity. 

When you start construction of your sandcastle the best approach is gathering up spadefulls of dry sand, because you need to control the amount of water that goes in. 

Professor Bennett advises sandcastle builders to add one part water to every eight parts sand – which means for every bucket you fill during construction about 12 per cent should be water. 

A sand to water ratio of 8:1 is perfect because it provides just enough surface tension – the force that causes water molecules to be attracted to one another. 

Too little water and the surface tension can’t hold the sand grains together, but too much water and the water turns into a lubricant, causing the castle to collapse and begin to flow with the water. 

8:1 is the sweet spot between a castle that crumbles like a fruit topping (not enough water) and one that flows like a sludgy landslide (too much water). 

‘The film of water between individual sand grains is what gives sand its strength,’ said Professor Bennett. 

‘Too much and it lubricates one grain over the other, but just right and it binds them strong.’ 

For this reason, it’s important to mix thoroughly, ensuring that every sand grain is water-coated, and packing the bucket to tighten the little water bridges that hold the grains together. 

Following these steps should ensure that a bucket-full of your mixture will be able to support the weight of another, helping to create the biggest fortification on the beach.

Weather can affect the sturdiness of your construction, with the slightest winds potentially blowing it over, so you may want to opt for secluded fringes of the beach, perhaps sheltered by natural promontories of rock. 

Professor Bennett was part of a 2004 study that compared sand from the 10 most popular beaches in the UK at the time. 

The red sands of Torquay in Devon were the best for castle building, followed by Bridlington second and Bournemouth, Great Yarmouth and Tenby tied in third. 

Unfortunately, some famous beaches in the UK including Brighton Beach are useless for building sandcastles for one simple reason – they have stones instead.

Britain has immense vision and ambition for big projects to drive higher productivity and a better economic future.

But the ability of government, regulators and managers to deliver is feeble.

Advocates of HS2 cannot but be appalled by the way that public confidence in a transforming infrastructure project is being undermined by leadership upheavals, budget over-runs and internecine wars over the Euston terminal in London.

The scheme has only become ‘unachievable,’ in the words of the Infrastructure & Projects Authority, because those responsible for the system became bogged down in planning disputes and ballooning costs. 

The benefits of high-speed travel and the fast growing economic zones which follow are evident across the globe from Japan to France.

The Great British Nuclear project could suffer a similar fate. As former Rolls-Royce boss Sir John Rose told the Mail on Sunday, it is self-defeating for the Government to be putting out the contract for Small Modular Reactors (SMR) to tender.

The UK has already committed £200million to the project and Rolls-Royce has pioneering technology. 

Overseas electrical giants GEC and Hitachi stand ready to eat the UK’s cake. Former Business Secretary Greg Clark, now chairing a Commons science and technology committee, argues the UK’s plan to deliver 24-gigawats of nuclear energy by 2050 requires investment three times our current capacity. 

Beyond Hinkley Point 3 in Somerset, where EDF is delivering, plans are so nebulous as to be almost worthless.

Then there is Horizon. The Windsor Framework signalled that the UK could re-join the EU’s flagship £82billion science project.

The UK, with its world class research universities, needs to be a key player sucking in skills from across the globe. Instead, Britain’s participation is being held up by pettifogging disputes over the fiscal contribution. 

The UK’s life sciences firms and universities are desperate to prevent a brain drain of talent and facilities. 

With willpower, Britain is capable of amazing engineering. Users of the Elizabeth Line could provide testimony to that. The Thames Tideway is moving towards completion.

There is much unfinished infrastructure work, including the third runway at Heathrow. The bounce back in the skies this year makes it clear that the UK will need a new runway in the face of Continental and Gulf competition.

Unless Britain is bold and starts delivering, using our science and engineering prowess, the country will slip further down the output-per-capita G7 league table.

Fibre optics

BT chairman Adam Crozier and the BT board lost no time in choosing a chief executive to replace Philip Jansen.

The selection of non-executive director Allison Kirkby, with a track record at Sweden’s telecommunications giant Telia, looks sensible. 

Her appointment means that BT and Vodafone, Britain’s underperforming telecoms giants, will have women at the controls. Margherita Della Valle moved in the ‘C suite’ at Vodafone in April.

Kirkby’s first task is execution. BT is on a promise to deliver full-fibre broadband to the whole of the UK by 2026 and has committed £12billion to the project. 

The importance of connecting up Britain should not be under-estimated. Faster growing economies, such as South Korea and Spain, managed to get there first. 

Jansen recognised this had to be done and won £5billion or so of support from government. But he has been frustrated by the inability to turn around a sagging share price.

Among the less compelling tasks for Kirkby will be to dismantle the 55,000 army of technicians rolling out the fast fibre. 

As if that isn’t enough she also is saddled with the Patrick Drahi overhang. The Swiss-Israeli billionaire – who has been building a stake in BT – may not be done yet.

Tobacco road

BAT rightly is not in the mood to give up a London listing dating back to 1912.

This is in spite of the urgings of US-based investor GQG. The tobacco group’s recently appointed Brazilian chief executive Tadeu Marroco notes that Wall Street has full access to BAT equity through American depositary receipts (ADRs). 

Moreover, BAT might, for ethical reasons, have difficulty landing in a US index.

In resisting a shift, BAT follows the lead of two other FTSE giants, HSBC and Unilever. 

When they explored the height of the fences, they eventually pulled up. Another defeat for the City’s detractors.

A furious husband was caught on camera slapping a doctor at a medical conference in Maryland after accusing him of sexually assaulting his wife in 2016. 

The video, which was shot last month during the annual meeting of the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG) in Baltimore, sees the man walking up to the podium and hurling insults.

The acoustics of the room and nearby microphone ensure that every word is crystal clear for all to hear, with even the crack of each slap against the man’s face reverberating around the meeting room.

The audience member, who has not been named, could be seen grabbing the doctor, who was a panelist on the podium, by his shirt before slapping him with his hand.    

The assaulted doctor has been identified as a gynecologic oncology doctor at Stony Brook University Cancer Center in Long Island, New York, according to WMAR.  He has not been named as he has not been charged with a crime.

‘This mother****** sexually assaulted my wife seven years ago,’ the audience member announce before slapping the panelist. ‘You know what you did. You touched my wife 7 years ago in New York. Don’t be an a******. B****!’, he says slapping him again.

‘This is for all men who sexually assault women,’ he went on. ‘Be a f***ing man!’

The audience member is so upset as he makes his accusations he declares the assault on the doctor panelist is for all men who harm women in such a manner.

He emphasizes that his wife has been suffering due to his alleged predatory actions. 

A woman calls out, ‘Security!’ – which only enrages the man further.

‘You can call security, the police! I don’t give a f***!’ 

At one point, an individual off-camera can be heard laughing prompting the audience member to return to the panelists’ table and confront the doctor once again.

‘Seven years I’ve been waiting for this. Seven years! My wife is suffering because you are a f***ing predator,’ he states. ‘And you know what you did! Don’t be a f***ing b***h! You touched my wife! This a****** like to touch women.’

The incident led to a police investigation after officers were called to the conference center to handle the physical assault.

Following the conference, ACOG issued a statement apologizing for the incident.

‘Security protocols were followed, and the situation was rapidly addressed by plainclothes security and eventually the Baltimore Police Department. We apologize to those who may have been affected by the incident or subsequent exchanges. ACOG does not condone violence in any form,’  the ACOG said in a statement.

It goes on: ‘We recognize that those who witnessed the incident in person or online may have experienced trauma as a result, including many of you who have experienced sexual assault or other violence in the past.’ 

The doctor who was assaulted declined to press charges or file a report against the man, preferring instead that the husband be simply escorted off the premises, according to the Baltimore Police Department. 

None of the panelists have commented on what had occurred before them. 

Airline meals are a hot topic – and no wonder. When they hit the mark they’re a stress-busting treat – especially for those crammed into economy – and when they don’t they can leave travellers with bitter memories of their getaway.

Some flyers may reasonably wonder why they can’t hit the mark every time. A lack of attention paid to the science of airline meals by the catering company may be one reason.

Of course, there’s an element of science in cooking at ground level, but more so mid-flight, because the strange things that happen to passengers’ senses of taste and smell aboard aircraft at altitude must be taken into account.

Here we reveal all, including the meals that work well during flights – and those that are doomed to fail.

HOW OUR SENSE OF TASTE AND SMELL CHANGE DRAMATICALLY MID-FLIGHT

According to research for Lufthansa by the Fraunhofer Institute, Artemis Aerospace noted in a recent blog post, salt is perceived to be between 20 and 30 per cent less intense and sugar 15 to 20 per cent less intense at high altitude, and overall almost 70 per cent of passengers’ sense of taste is lost.

This is due to a combination of factors, including the decibel level from the engine noise, and the less than 12 per cent humidity, which rivals a desert atmosphere.

Artemis added: ‘As if this weren’t enough, low cabin pressure also decreases blood oxygen levels, which means that your olfactory receptors, which play a critical role in perceiving odours, become less sensitive.’

Underscoring how critical our sense of smell is, Artemis Aerospace explains that around 85 per cent of what we think of as ‘taste’ is actually due to our sense of smell. It adds: ‘So when people accuse airline food of being bland, this may not be an entirely fair assumption.’ 

TYPES OF FOOD AND DRINK THAT WORK ON PLANES

Professor Charles Spence from the Crossmodal Research Laboratory at the University of Oxford has worked closely with the airline industry on dishes that do and don’t work at altitude.

He told MailOnline Travel that ‘umami-forward foods’ are ideal – ‘so tomato, anchovy, mushroom, aged cheese and so on, all rich sources of umami, are likely to work well in the air’.

And as the onboard ovens dry the food out, meals generally need to be accompanied by plenty of sauce, says Professor Spence.

German carrier Lufthansa said: ‘Usually all stews and curries work well under low-pressure conditions, because the spices – for example ginger, cumin, cinnamon, chilli, paprika, cardamon, and so on – remain “flavour stable” under low pressure when being reheated. There’s no need to increase the amount of spices in the regular recipe.’

Private aviation firm VistaJet agrees.

It said: ‘Generally, all curries travel well. As they are sauce-based they are very easy to reheat in both the microwave or oven onboard the aircraft and the flavour, rich in spices, stays unchanged.’

VistaJet serves pasta, too.

It continued: ‘Spaghetti, or pasta in general, travels well, especially if reheated properly. At VistaJet, for example, we heat the pasta in the oven at 300 degrees in tin foil to a point where we’re meticulous about “just reheating”, not overcooking. The best pasta to enjoy? A nice tomato sauce, pure umami, mixed with the fattiness of mozzarella in the pasta creates a warm and delightful dish to enjoy on any flight.’

Lufthansa concurs, further revealing that the pasta must be good quality and that care must be taken with the sprinkling of herbs.

It said: ‘First of all, robust, high-quality pasta needs to be used. Penne is probably the most durable one. If using creamy sauces, it’s important to only use fresh herbs as dry herbs develop a “hay taste”. Here the amount of herbs of the “regular” recipe needs to be increased – doubled even – to reach the same taste profile as on ground level.’

Drinks-wise, he reveals that the Bloody Mary works because it gives you ‘an umami hit’.

And high-altitude wines come with an expert recommendation, too.

Professor Spence said: ‘Interestingly, you are probably better going for a fruitier New World number, even better if it comes from a vineyard at altitude, as you find with many Chilean wines. One suggestion here is that wines will have been created at similar atmospheric pressure, equivalent to 5-6,000ft above sea level, as found in a typical airline cabin.’

Professor Spence also recommends ‘fruit-forward’ craft beers.

FOOD AND DRINKS THAT DON’T WORK ON PLANES

Professor Spence has some advice for airline sommeliers.

He said: ‘Old World wines that are tannic don’t necessarily taste so great at altitude.’

And Parmesan cheese is potentially perilous as it has a sweaty sock aroma.

Professor Spence said: ‘One might want to avoid Parmesan cheese – though it is a great source of umami – given that one of the key volatile chemicals is shared with sweaty socks.’

Lufthansa pinpointed rice-based risottos as poor performers, citing the fact that ‘they get dry and sticky when being reheated’. It added: ‘However, replacing the rice with alternatives such as barley makes the dish suitable for airline catering.’

Lufthansa also explained why it is cautious around certain vegetables, adding that ‘Brussels sprouts, cauliflower and sauerkraut should only be used sparingly’ due to ‘strong smell development’. Plus, it said, ‘they are also harder to digest than other vegetables’.

VistaJet, meanwhile, added oysters and duck breast to the hazardous materials list.

It said: ‘Oysters are a true taste of the sea, but for health and safety reasons we do not serve them on board as the correct temperature cannot be guaranteed from kitchen to serving. Instead, consider a light, healthy sushi or sashimi selection. The earthy and punchy condiments will work beautifully at altitude.

‘And duck breast with plum sauce is a classic, but in the air it struggles to deliver on mouthfeel and flavour. At altitude, the breast becomes dry, skin loses elasticity and can taste stale.’