An Australian exchange student who’s just moved to Manchester has been documenting his voyage of discovery with British culture on TikTok, including his first trips to Wetherspoons, Greggs, and even Tesco.
Sebastien Butler has been vlogging his move to the UK on social media for the last few weeks, visiting some places that will be pretty familiar to a lot of us Mancs.
But until we viewed them through his young Aussie eyes, we didn’t realise how weird a lot of British staples actually are.
In his video series, Sebastien has partied in some local nightlife spots, been perplexed by our crisp packet colours (salt and vinegar should be pink, apparently), and been alarmed by the ‘very big, kinda scary’ geese.
Sebastien has visited some local student nightlife institutions already in his short time here. He’s checked off Factory, Courtyard (Corona on tap? ‘That’s sick’), and student bar Squirrel’s (‘drinks here are so f*cking cheap’).
There’s also been SEVERAL trips to Wetherspoons, including The Paramount on Oxford Street, where he deemed the chicken wings ‘actually alright’ and was stunned to find you can order drinks to your table.
A trip to Walkabout left him – rightfully – upset that the only ‘Aussie’ beer on tap was Fosters.
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In fact, alcohol and the price of it seems to be the recurring thing throughout his TikTok series.
“It’s f*cked, it’s so cheap here. What are we doing in Australia?” he asked in one video.
Sebastien also said: “A lot of you guys in the UK think Australia have like a f*cked drinking culture, but I reckon you guys drink a lot more than us. And a lot more consistently. It’s fun though.
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“I just feel like in Australia because alcohol is more expensive, people go out drinking like twice a week and that’s about it, but here it’s like most nights you can do something if you want to.”
Sebastien has made us realise how weird it is that we have slot machines (or ‘pokies’, if you’re Australian’) in our service stations, and that we are indeed being ripped off by Domino’s, which is about half the price Down Under.
‘Whoever Gregg is, take a bow’ – Credit: TikTok, @sebastienbutler
His ventures with food and drink have made up the bulk of his content.
His conclusions? Nando’s is worth the hype, Lidl bakery toffee yumyums are ‘honestly one of the nicest things I’ve tasted’, and Tesco meal deals are his ‘favourite part of the UK’.
On Vimto, he said: “Ooo-oh. I don’t know. It tastes like one of the frozen Fanta flavours from Macca’s. Trying to remember what it tastes like. Tastes like bubblegum, that’s it.”
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He’s had two trips to Greggs, saying on his maiden voyage: “I’ve seen this place before. I think from memory they do like pastries and stuff… I asked inside and apparently the sausage roll is a Greggs classic, so.”
Sebastien then filmed himself taking a huge bite of his sausage roll, reviewing it: “Decent, decent. The meat tastes a bit fake but the pastry’s alright. For £1.20, pretty good, pretty good.”
Standing in Piccadilly Gardens, he pointed out the mad proximity of Greggs bakeries, saying: “Why is there a Greggs over there, when I literally just went to a Greggs here. Like are they that popular?” Yes Sebastien, yes they are.
On his second visit, he ordered better and got himself a steak bake, leading to this gem: “Whoever Gregg is, take a bow.”
His series has been going down a storm on TikTok with millions of views, even though he said he only initially started doing it to keep in touch with his friends back home.
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One person commented after a night out video: “The UK is gonna turn you feral.”
Someone else said: “Imagine coming all the way from Australia to go to Factory.”
Another wrote: “No as someone from Manchester watching an Aussie go to Factory is HILARIOUS.”
Latest wave of ‘Evening 4’ Ricky Hatton lineup in memory of the legendary Manc boxer announced
Danny Jones
Manchester is set to host a night of remembrance and celebration in honour of the late, great, local boxer, Ricky Hatton, and now a superb second wave of names has been added to AO Arena’s lineup.
Coming this summer, the legendary Manchester arena – where Hatton enjoyed so many of his iconic moments – will be holding the first-ever ‘Evening4Ricky’ later this year.
Held at the legendary sports and live entertainment venue just in time for summer, we still only know bits and pieces about what’s in store, but a whole host of familiar Manc faces, famous British names, and figures from the world of sport have now been announced.
Sharing the news on social media, AO Arena said: “Join us for an unforgettable night of entertainment as Manchester comes together for Evening4Ricky.
“This will be a spectacular, unique celebration of the life, spirit and legacy of one of the city’s most beloved icons – Ricky ‘The Hitman’ Hatton.”
With seats priced at £25, fans are being encouraged to join the early bird sign-up to secure access to discounted tickets.
As you can see, now confirmed for the evening are the likes of Man United legend, Paul Scholes, darts icon Phil ‘The Power’ Taylor, as well as fellow former boxers like Frank Bruno, Tony Bellew and more.
Local band, The K’s, were already confirmed as part of the in-person performances, but now the likes of Manc grime artists Bugzy Malone, fellow UK rapper Tinie Tempah, and The Lottery Winners are joining in, too, alongside loads more live music and entertainment set to be revealed in the coming weeks.
They go on to add: “Hosted at the legendary AO Arena, home to so many of Ricky’s big fights, featuring a superstar cast of legends from the worlds of boxing, music, comedy and entertainment.”
So, we do at least know there’ll be some famous faces coming along to help make it a memorable Manc moment, just a few months on from the city and beyond uniting for his public funeral procession.
Ricky was beloved not only by the Greater Manchester community but was a popular figure and friend to many in the sporting and showbiz industries.
The homegrown ‘Pride of Hyde‘ tragically left us on 14 September 2025 at the age of just 46, but his passing has once again helped reassert the importance of having more conversations around wellbeing, suicide prevention, and most specifically, men’s mental health.
You can find more information and see how to grab tickets right HERE.
This isn’t the only charitable in memoriam event happening across the region in the coming weeks, either, as Mancs will be gathering to pay tribute to another fellow inspiring sportsman.
Rare picture of David Bowie’s legendary one-off gig in Stockport unearthed
Danny Jones
A rare picture taken from the night of the late, great David Bowie’s legendary one-off gig in Stockport has been unearthed by a local whilst digging through his loft.
Imagine having that kind of history just squirrelled away in an attic…
As revealed by Stockport Music Story, after being supplied with the image by David Maynard, the snap was shared more than half a century on from the much-mythologised moment in Greater Manchester music history.
In fact, it was put on display and posted on social media quite literally 56 years to the day since Bowie played his only Stopfordian set on 27 April, 1970.
Maynard himself is featured in the newly discovered photograph (second from the left) and was one of the select and lucky few who were in the room for that very special show.
Organised by a group of teens on behalf of the Stockport Schools’ Students’ Union, the performance took place at the long-gone Poco a Poco music venue and club over in Heaton Chapel.
The storied space hosted many big names over the years – Gerry Marsden, Freddie Starr, Hank Marvin and more – but sadly closed in May of 1987 following a fire.
It went on to become the popular Hinds Head pub, which still serves punters to this day, but once had the honour of hosting a true artistic great and British icon.
For anyone wondering, this is indeed the same night on which David Robert Jones (yes, that’s Bowie‘s full birth name) missed his train home and had to sleep on the railway platform.
Here’s a BBC segment covering the tale back on its 55th anniversary in April 2025.
It may be a small and somewhat curious claim to fame, but native love the legend of it all nonetheless.
As for the other individuals pictured alongside him, Stockport Music Story (SMS) said: “The names of the people we know are David Maynard (2nd left), Roz Wood (3rd left), David Bowie, Bill Frost (2nd right), Stewart Rigby (right).”
They go on to add: “It would be amazing to find out who the other people in the photograph are and what they remember from that night.” We sincerely hope they do.
You can now see the plaque up close and personal at Stockport Station for yourselves and as for SMS’s growing archive of the region’s creative culture, you can find out tonnes more about other pieces of SK heritage right HERE.
Daisy Jackson -
10th February 2023 
