Who's queuing to buy London's gold bars?

I’m aware that sometimes the news can be a bit… much. After we published our “Confessions of a London fake news TikToker” piece this week, one reader got in touch to say it was “brilliant reporting” but they’d just “lost all faith in humanity”.

So, today we’ve got something a bit lighter as our main story – a look at the curious collection of Londoners, ranging from welders to music producers, who have been rushing to buy physical bars of gold at central London locations in recent weeks. Scroll down to read that.

That said, I’ve spent the last few months investigating online content creators who make big money from inaccurately talking London down for a series of forthcoming pieces. I’d love to hear if you’ve got a story about a friend or acquaintance – whether in the UK, or around the world – who has raised baffling concerns about life in the capital after overdosing on online videos. Please do send me an email or a WhatsApp with your story. And thanks to all the paying subscribers who fund our reporting.

Before we move on, SmartLet, the estate agency at the centre of our TikTok investigation, has asked us to reiterate once again to all London Centric readers that they find the videos secretly filmed inside their client’s properties to be “repellant”. They have also asked us to emphasise that their former viewing agent, who they hold responsible for the videos, was a contractor rather than on staff.

So, when will it stop raining?

London Centric was walking through Soho on Wednesday afternoon, checking the tax status of a newly-opened American candy shop, when we spotted one of the rarest sights in the capital this year – a glowing orb in the sky. The vision lasted about ten minutes before vanishing back into the drizzle.

We phoned Professor Liz Bentley, chief executive of the Royal Meteorological Society to ask about the capital’s never-ending rain and to find out if London will ever be dry again.

Bentley had some home truths to deliver. While London has had more wet days than normal in 2026, she said that the “total amount of rain actually isn’t that exceptional”. Instead, what’s unusual about the capital’s weather is how persistent the drizzle has been: “It’s been light rain that’s enough to wet you, but not lots of heavy rain that would cause flooding ...