I just heard back from the friend about golden syrup and he said the following:
I have just looked up Golden Syrup on the internet. Apparently I was wrong. Golden syrup is made from sugar cane according to
http://www.fatfree.com/archive/2000/aug/msg00123.html
There is also a recipe to make your own at
http://recipes.alastra.com/equivalents/ ... syrup.html