logo
American tourist in the UK goes wild over popular British snack and says it's 'needed' in the US

American tourist in the UK goes wild over popular British snack and says it's 'needed' in the US

Daily Mail​10-07-2025
An American tourist visiting the UK has divided his followers after sharing which British snack he believes should be available in the states.
Kalani Smith, known online as Kalani Ghost Hunter, lives in Tennessee but has been spending some months travelling around the UK and has clearly picked up a taste for the local delicacies.
In a recent TikTok the influencer recorded himself sat in a car munching on a Gregg's sausage roll, before telling his followers the US 'needs it'.
However, British fans were quick to dismiss it - saying there are much better snacks on offer in the UK.
One person wrote: ' Greggs is probably the worst bakers I've ever had, can't beat regular bakers.'
Pointing out how unhealthy he snack is, another said: 'Greggs is probably the worst bakers I've ever had, can't beat regular bakers.'
However, other viewers completely agreed with Kalani and several Brits applauded his great taste.
One supporter said: 'Greggs sausage rolls can't be matched.'
Another added: 'Everyone should have access to Greggs as a human right.'
Referencing the content creator's other videos another follower wrote: 'I am convinced he works for British Tourism as he is champions our cuisine better than anyone in Britain.'
Kalani has previously made videos about the different phases used in Britain which he doesn't hear back home in the states.
In a recent video titled: '3 phrases I NEVER used Until visiting The UK,' the influencer shared that his family and friends were confused when he returned home from his time away with several new phrases he had picked up on his travels.
Revealing the three phrases he first highlighted the word 'fancy,' adding that 'Number one is "I fancy a takeaway". Now, to a Brit, this sounds absolutely normal, but in America, we would never call it a takeaway. It's always take out, and I would never say I fancy something.'
Moving on to the second phrase he said: 'The second one is "put the kettle on". This is a very common saying in the UK [...] this one, I feel like, is a household phrase. Someone's coming over to your house, you're going to tell them you'll put the kettle on. If you're craving a cuppa, you'll put the kettle on.'
He then revealed the third phrase he had picked up, which was something a little ruder, 'I can't be a****". '
Kalani continued: 'The US version of this is "I can't be bothered". But it essentially means you don't want to do something, or you're too lazy to do something or care about something.'
The anglophile also admitted the UK has admitted that British weather ' feels different' and the heat is more severe.
Americans have been known to poke fun at Brits who complain about the weather with some calling them 'dramatic' and claiming they wouldn't 'survive in the US' - where the temperatures are generally much hotter.
Kalani admitted that though he had 'doubted' Brits at first, he now believes that the heat in the UK 'feels different' - and he doesn't know how people ' survive' without aircon.
He told his TikTok page: 'I always thought British people were lying when they were saying how hot it gets here but for some reason, it feels like you're melting.
'It honestly feels like my b******s are sweating out of my pants every time I walk somewhere I have sweaty b***s.
'I know it gets hotter at home and the humidity is just as bad at home but for some reason walking in these streets and walking into my hotel room it feels like I'm in a f***ing sauna.'
Kalani - who has 3.2 million followers on TikTok - said he simply does not know how Britons cope in the blistering temperatures without having air con their homes or at work - as is commonly seen in the United States.
He added: 'I know you don't need it all year around but let me tell you at home, I get that nice relief from going into some cold air.
'Here, it's just misery everywhere and you wonder why Brits complain about the weather so much, it's because it can be f***ing miserable.'
Throughout his time in the UK, Kalani has found that it's easy to strike up a conversation with almost any Brit, simply by mentioning the weather.
He gave some advice to tourists, adding: 'Honestly, if you want the best small talk with a Brit, just look around and start talking about the weather. It's the easiest way to start a conversation with someone here - it's a British pastime.
'I never knew why until I came over here and experienced how s*** this weather can actually be.'
Kalani's clip racked up 1.7 million views on TikTok in less than a day with thousands of comments from Brits who felt validated.
One wrote: 'Wait till you try and sleep with no ac on Thursday night when it hits 28.'
Kalani's clip racked up 1.7million views on TikTok in less than a day and thousands of comments from Brits who felt validated
Another penned: 'Every American that comes over and experiences our weather has an "Ahhhh I get it now" moment.'
A third said: 'When we say "It's a different kind of heat", we mean it!'
A fourth commented: 'Well - for someone from the Philippines, I cannot handle summer in the UK. I have been here since 2009.'
In another video, Kalani visited a local supermarket and even put his head in the fridges to cool down.
He also revealed the three culture shocks he experienced when he moved to the UK.
One thing that surprised him was the different portion sizes, admitting when he first ordered a large drink in the UK, he mistook it for a small.
Kalani said, 'My mind was like "this is a small". If you're not familiar with drink sizes in the US, you can get a small state-sized cup for like a dollar 50. It's absolutely mind-blowing.
Taken aback by UK standards, he added, 'When you travel out of the US, you realise that it's not the norm.'
He also hadn't realised how different the tipping culture is.
'When you get your check at the end of dinner, and they don't ask for a tip, and they don't even give you an option to tip, it's really weird,' he said.
'For example, when you go out in the USA and you get dinner, let's say it's $60, it's customary to leave an extra 20 per cent on top of that for your service staff.'
The content creator continued, 'But in the UK, it's not the norm to leave anything extra on top.'
The internet personality said that he sometimes still tips waiters and waitresses, but he no longer 'feels the same pressure' to splash out the cash.
The third adjustment Kalani had to learn to adapt to was the British humour, which he described as 'very dry, very dark and very passive aggressive'.
However, once the social media star started to understand the British sarcasm, he admitted that it became 'really funny'.
He said: 'They have so many different ways to insult you and so many different ways to say things that it's almost like translating another language at times.'
The clip racked up almost 800,000 views and over one thousand comments - and some Britons ranted about having to tip staff when holidaying in the States
Kalani described British comedy as 'elite' and said he was first exposed to it when reading comments on his posts.
'I have grown to call a lot of people "melts" and really enjoy it,' he added.
The clip racked up almost 800,000 views after two days and over one thousand comments, with Britons ranting about having to tip staff when holidaying in the States.
One wrote, 'The reason you're not expected to tip in the UK is because service staff actually get paid a wage and tips are extra, not like in the US where servers only survive on tips.'
Another penned, 'Been to America and hated the fact that I had to tip for someone that literally just sat me down and took my order.'
A third said, 'Our banter is the best, the more you like someone the worse the insults.' A fourth commented, 'I wouldn't be able to tip in the US. Couldn't afford it.'
Orange background

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Comments

No comments yet...

Related Articles

M&S's beauty advent calendar 2025 is worth £330 – here's what to know
M&S's beauty advent calendar 2025 is worth £330 – here's what to know

The Independent

time27 minutes ago

  • The Independent

M&S's beauty advent calendar 2025 is worth £330 – here's what to know

Forget chocolate countdowns, the best beauty advent calendars are the alternative festive tradition that I get on board with every year. But while heavy hitters like Liberty, Harrods and Selfridges come with a hefty price tag, M&S's cult-favourite calendar tends to set you back less than £50. A sell-out hit year after year, the high street stalwart usually offers an indulgent edit of winter beauty essentials from household names – think Benefit, Clinique, Ren, Percy & Reed and Living Proof. The line-up typically boasts an overall value of more than £300, and comes packaged in a velvet vanity case that can be reused long after Christmas. I've been reviewing beauty advent calendars for four years, having tested brands from John Lewis and Lookfantastic to Boots and plenty more. But M&S remains my favourite. Not only is it affordable, but the contents promise plenty of variety and include brands you can really trust. While you might be busy enjoying the last few weeks of summer, true to form, Christmas has come early in the beauty world. Brands including Liberty, Space NK and No7 are already looking ahead to the festive season by unveiling this year's countdowns and The Independent 's beauty writer, Lucy, has rounded up all the best beauty advent calendars you need to know about. Following suit, M&S has hinted to its own offering for 2025 with a new page on its site, featuring a silhouette of this year's calendar. The stalwart has also revealed how much it is worth, how many full-size products you'll be treated to and some of the brands on the roster. Here's everything you need to know about M&S's beauty advent calendar. When can you shop M&S's beauty advent calendar 2025? No details have been announced about when you'll be able to shop the M&S beauty advent calendar, but I'm expecting it to drop in late October. In 2024, the calendar was available from Thursday, 24 October, while in 2023, it was released on Thursday, 26 October. How much will M&S's beauty advent calendar 2025 cost? M&S is yet to reveal how much its calendar will cost, but it has revealed that products will equate to an overall worth of £330. Last year, the calendar cost £50 when you spent £35 in-store or online on beauty, home and clothing (which is easily done, thanks to M&S's stellar autumn fashion collection and homeware). I'm expecting it to be priced similarly this year. What products could be inside M&S's beauty advent calendar 2025? So far, M&S has revealed that there will be 25 products in its calendar – eight of which will be full size. The retailer has also announced that it will feature brands including Clinique, Estée Lauder and Nuxe – the silhouette on M&S's site also reveals Color Wow. There also appears to be a gua sha in the mix, fragrances and perhaps a mascara (which looks suspiciously like a Clinique one). Last year's offering gives us a flavour of what else to expect. In 2024, M&S's curated line-up of 25 beauty gifts includes haircare, make-up, body care, skincare and fragrance, with 11 full-size products and 14 travel-sized minis. Better yet, it was packaged in a navy velvet vanity case – which is far more useful than the boxes that most advent calendars come in (I still use my vanity case from last year's calendar as storage and for travel). Packaging aside, there was a lot to get excited about. When it came to haircare, there was Color Wow's colour security shampoo (£21.50 for full size, and conditioner (£21.50 for full size, plus a full-size Percy & Reed's tame that mane smoothing blow dry cream (£20, Philip Kingsley's elasticizer (£21 for full size, ans a 60ml Living Proof PhD five-in-one styling treatment (£28 for full size, was in the mix, as well as Ren's gentle cleansing milk (£25 for 150ml, The make-up line-up was smaller but equally stellar - think Benefit's fan fest mascara ( and Pixi kohl eyeliner (£12, Other luxe brands included were L'Occitane and Cowshed. So, can the 2025 M&S beauty advent calendar top last year's? Watch this space, as more details are revealed.

Kate Ferdinand on her chaotic and ‘special' life with Rio and their five kids
Kate Ferdinand on her chaotic and ‘special' life with Rio and their five kids

The Independent

time27 minutes ago

  • The Independent

Kate Ferdinand on her chaotic and ‘special' life with Rio and their five kids

With five children aged between two and 19, Kate Ferdinand admits family life is 'special and crazy and loving and loud'. The former The Only Way is Essex (TOWIE) cast member, who has two young children with her husband, the former footballer Rio Ferdinand, and is stepmum to his three teenage children, happily agrees family life, and particularly mealtimes, is chaotic – and very special too. 'The chaos!' she says with a laugh. 'There's five kids and it's so loud I can't even tell you, you can't even hear yourself think. There's a lot of over-stimulation. But also, it's so special and crazy and loving and loud and everything that you could wish it to be. 'The bond between the kids is amazing.' Ferdinand married former England and Manchester United captain Rio in 2019, becoming stepmum to his three children Lorenz, now 19, Tate, 17, and Tia, 14, from his first marriage to Rebecca Ellison, who died of breast cancer in 2015 at the age of just 34. Kate also has two children – Cree, aged four, and Shae, two, with Rio, and founded a podcast, Blended, to 'celebrate' blended families. The two eldest boys are both footballers for Brighton & Hove Albion and live away from home, but Ferdinand says they both come home regularly and she tries to make sure the whole family sits down for meals together whenever possible. 'Sitting at the table and having dinner is a massive thing in our house – I feel like it's massive for talking,' she explains. 'It's where everything comes out, where you reconnect after the day, but it doesn't happen every single night, because obviously the big boys don't live at home any more because they play football. 'We're a very sporty household and our kids have a lot of clubs, so it's near impossible to get everyone there every night.' The Ferdinand's aren't alone in finding it tough to all get together for dinner – new research from HelloFresh has found almost one in three (31.8%) of parents questioned say their children's hobbies and club schedules make it difficult to share dinner together midweek, and the the situation gets worse once school term begins again, with 62% of parents saying mealtimes feel 'more squeezed'. But, like Ferdinand, more than half of parents (55%) agree that shared mealtimes are beneficial for children's development and a great chance for the family to reconnect. So Ferdinand has teamed up with HelloFresh to encourage families to set aside at least one night a week to sit down together for a family meal. 'We eat together when we're all at home – we sit at the table, that's part of our family routine,' Ferdinand says. 'Don't get me wrong. The little ones are wanting to run off, but I try and be quite firm with it. They have to ask to leave the table, and they've got to take their plate up. It's quite funny, Shae's only two, and she actually takes her plate up and puts it on the side. 'We all love it because we're all talking at the dinner table – everyone's so busy, but we reconnect. And it's mental, and there's food getting thrown about everywhere, drinks are being spilled. But it's the one time we're all together, normally.' Fortunately, the Ferdinands have an extendable dining table, because as well as the seven family members, she says the boys sometimes bring their girlfriends for dinner, and meals can be for 12-16 people. Kate does the cooking, but she does get help from all the family, including Rio – if she asks for it. 'The kids are great,' she says. 'I have to ask for help, but when I do ask, they help me. We all have our own little jobs – I'll do the cooking, the kids lay the table, they help with the washing up and the tidying up. There's a bit of teamwork, really. 'Rio's very good at seasoning the meat – it's a bit of a collaboration. To be honest, Rio carves for me and then pretends he made the meal. 'But if Rio's home, he'll cook as well. Everyone gets involved.' Even the older boys will lend a hand with cooking, and their proud stepmum says: 'Tate's just turned 17, and he loves cooking. He actually thinks he's better than me. And that's a little debate in our house – I've said cook a few more times for me, and I'll let you know.' She says that while Tate cooks for himself, he's yet to cook a meal for the whole family. 'Everything changes when you're cooking for seven people,' she says. 'When the quantities go up, it becomes a little bit more difficult!' But she hopes he'll give catering for the whole clan a try one day, and says: 'As a parent, you always want to do everything for your kids, and it's only in recent years that I've realised you've really got to let them make mistakes and try stuff themselves and take a step back so they can thrive. 'That's something I used to struggle with, but now I've been doing a bit more of that, and it's paid off so much, because you can just see them thriving in so many aspects of their life.' But with such a busy life as a wife, mum and podcaster, how does Ferdinand herself thrive? Speaking when all the kids are out and the house is peaceful for once, she says: 'Don't get me wrong, it's the summer holidays now, and I'm glad they've gone out so I can make calls for a few hours.' She agrees it's nice to get a bit of peace sometimes, and says: 'Absolutely – I think any parent that doesn't say that might be fibbing.' She occasionally manages to wangle a bit of 'me-time' – although it might take getting up at the crack of dawn to do it. 'It's not a real representation when it's the summer holidays,' she explains. 'But normally when the kids are at school and I'm not working, I'll prioritise doing things like trying to get some me-time – this morning I got up extra-early and took the dog out for a walk at 6.45am just to have a minute. 'Because sometimes I feel like you need to give yourself 10 minutes, even if it's just walking around the block, just to think before the day starts. It's not a half a day in the spa like it was years and years ago, pre-kids, but it's just about finding those moments.' Kate Ferdinand is a Back to School ambassador for the recipe box delivery service HelloFresh and is showing how prioritising just one meal together a week has improved her family's wellbeing.

Sephora beauty advent calendar 2025 waitlist has opened – here's how to sign up
Sephora beauty advent calendar 2025 waitlist has opened – here's how to sign up

The Independent

time27 minutes ago

  • The Independent

Sephora beauty advent calendar 2025 waitlist has opened – here's how to sign up

The Sephora beauty advent calendar was my favorite among all the ones I tried last year, so when I found out the 2025 edition was on its way, I could barely contain my excitement. The once US-only retailer – which launched in the UK in 2022 – is one of the latest beauty brands to unveil its Christmas calendar, with Boots, Harrods, Selfridges and more dropping earlier this month (browse my full selection of the best beauty advent calendars 2025). As the saying goes, good things come to those who wait and, based on the brand's early sneak peek at the first five products, it looks like we're in for a truly indulgent December. Sephora is keeping the price and worth of this year's calendar secret for now, but I can confirm that there will be an extra product compared to 2024 (totalling 41) and, as usual, 24 full-sizes. Scroll on for everything I know so far, including sign up details plus those all important first five items. So far, Sephora has revealed that its 2025 favourites calendar will go on sale for pre-orders on 3 September, with the waitlist open now for those eager to buy. The advent has sold out three years in a row, so joining the waitlist – and being among the first notified once it goes live – is one of the best things you can do to boost your chances of purchasing success. Plus, five lucky individuals from the waitlist will get to take home the calendar free of charge, so there's even more incentive to join. While last year's packaging was a slick silver with cerise accents, 2025's is glitzy in gold with neon light-style motifs. Promising buyers 'lots of exclusives', the first five products (listed below) comprise a mix of new and returning brands, with Medik8, Sephora own-brand and Glow Recipe also having featured in 2024's product line-up. So far the retailer has confirmed:

DOWNLOAD THE APP

Get Started Now: Download the App

Ready to dive into a world of global content with local flavor? Download Daily8 app today from your preferred app store and start exploring.
app-storeplay-store