The cultural differences between Britain and America have long been established by now, but it seems that we’re still finding ways to be confused by it all.
Food certainly seems to be a common cause of confusion.
You may remember not too long ago when the internet erupted after Americans took to Twitter to criticise the Great British fry-up and present their own version of this breakfast phenomenon? And then of course, who can forget the American mother-daughter TikTok duo that has been causing havoc recently with their “hot tea/British tea” and “beans on toast” recipes?
It’s another British food ‘delicacy’ that’s found itself in the American firing line this time though.
After scrolling through the hugely popular r/CasualUK thread on Reddit, we came across a post by a self-confessed “confused American” who was posing the question as to why we have – and we direct quote here – “face meats” in the UK, and after understandably spending a minute or two being confused as to what they meant, we realised just what it was they were referring to.
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Who remembers Billy Bear ham?
You know, that teddy bear shaped ‘ham’ with a face – that either came in a sliceable log, or was pre-cut and packaged – and was worryingly made of only 66% pork?
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Nothing like seeing Billy Bear ham in log form to really put the fear of God in you on a Sunday afternoon. pic.twitter.com/iHIH1bDnCr
Yes, this is what Americans are referring to as “face meats” and it’s absolutely hilarious.
Billy Bear ham is the product of German-based company The Feldhues Group and surprisingly, it’s not the only “face meat” they manufacture either – Happy Lion, Happy Tractor, Happy Fox and more all make up the collection of hams, and they’re all still available to get your hands on too, if you’re in the market for that sort of thing.
Frightening.
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The Feldhues Group who make Billy Bear ham also have another character called "Billy" who, frankly, appears to be of a somewhat questionable design… pic.twitter.com/tw8f4HnJnf
Of course, as is to be expected with Reddit, the comment threads under the “face meats” question are equally as funny as the initial post itself, but if you sift through the comical responses, there are some stand-up citizens who have attempted to present reasoning.
One comment reply reads: “It’s just ham – we put faces on it so that the little sh**s will shut up and eat their sandwiches.”
Another said: “As a student I worked on the deli counter of a major UK supermarket that sold the Billy Bear version of this meat. Most of the conversations round this were kids asking their parents to buy it, then the parents saying no because you don’t actually like the taste of it. Great marketing ploy – sell you something the kids wont eat.”
In general response to the question by the “confused American” though, it seems that we as Brits actually have no idea why our supermarkets stock “face meats” either.
In fact, they’re probably right to be confused by it, because we very much are too.
Maybe we’ll have to let the Americans have this one.
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Two Manchester Basketball players have been named in the SLB Team of the Season for 2025/26
Danny Jones
A pair of Manchester Basketball players have been named in the latest SLB Team of the Season for 2025/26.
The most recent UK Super League Basketball (SLB) campaign is set to wrap up this month, with the playoffs taking place down in the capital, but there are other awards to be handed out before then.
It remains to be seen how ‘The Final Four’ phase will play out at The O2 in London on 17 May, but we can definitely take joy in moments like this.
Announced on Thursday, 7 May, Manchester Basketball confirmed that duo Max Jones and Jordan Johnson have joined the rest of the league’s roster of the best players this term.
As detailed on the club website, “Max has averaged 17.4 points in the SLB in 32 games – he’s been a starter for the franchise and was also named in the ENBL All-Star Five in Germany last month.
“Jordan averaged 14.1 points and 5.1 assists in 30 games in the SLB, had a stellar European campaign and hit 30 pts in just over 27 minutes in the SLB Cup Final.”
Commenting on social media, one fan wrote: “Both JJ and PJ have been so great at the PG spot all year. I feel this is a joint award for them both, but they can only fill one spot for the accolade. If we wanna be a serious club to build upon year on year, JJ also needs to be in an MCR jersey next year.
“We absolutely have the pieces to build around. JJ’s nerve is sooooo cool under pressure. You can just tell they wanna loft a meaningful trophy, and it’s gonna happen if we as a club plan and build the way we need to.”
Plenty of supporters have also stressed the importance of making sure that the board tie down the likes of Jones and other big talents this summer; the rest of the Molten All-League Team of the Season for 2025/26 can be found below.
It’s also worth noting that teammate Tim Adetukasi and women’s team star Irene Oboavwoduo have each been named in the SLB’s British Team of the Year in their respective divisions for 2026.
Writing in a club statement reflecting on a great week of recognition for the resurgent club, General Manager Dominique Allen said: “We are really proud to be a club flying the flag for British players.
Both Tim and Irene have made a real impact on and off the court. We’re really happy for both of them that they are getting some well-deserved recognition.”
Well done to all the MCR stars who are helping get the franchise back on its feet following such a major rebrand across the board.
Here’s looking forward to another promising and productive year for Manchester Basketball.
Akon speaks on his connection to Manchester after run of Co-op Live gigs
Danny Jones
Music veteran Akon has recently discussed his connection to our city following his run of live shows here in Manchester.
In fact, he went so far as to say he feels much more affinity here than he does with ‘The Big Smoke’.
The seasoned Senegalese-American rapper, singer-songwriter, entrepreneur and humanitarian, teamed up with fellow chart-topper Ne-Yo for not just one, not even two, but three whole nights at Co-op Live this May as part of their co-headline tour across the UK and Ireland.
Chatting with Simone Riley on BBC Radio Manchester before the third and final gig of the trio, Akon admitted that there’s “something about Manchester” that he loves way more than London.
As you can see, while he couldn’t quite put his finger on what exactly is about it in the North compared to the capital, he said simply that “it’s crazy here”, and he loves it.
Same, mate. Same.
Admitting that he feels “more attached to Manchester than London” and labelling the energy from the crowds as “stupid” up here (he meant it in a good way, we promise), Simone couldn’t help but confess her joy over his comments.
He’s not the only global superstar to have recently shouted out their affection for 0161, either, as Billie Eilish also said something similar.
Speaking to the mainline BBC at the premiere of her Hit Me Hard and Soft: The Tour (Live in 3D), she said that while the dates lining up were certainly a key factor, there were other reasons why she chose Manchester to film her new movie.
Our Audio North team were also lucky enough to chat with Akon’s touring partner Ne-Yo recently, too, who also had nothing but good things to say about us as a place to play.
As for Akon, the 53-year-old has obviously played here plenty of times over the decades, with last year’s tour being his first return in a decade.
That being said, given how glowingly he’s spoken about us and how popular these joint performances were, we reckon it won’t be that long before he comes back.
Last but not least, we obviously couldn’t resist going along to at least one of the nights for ourselves; listen to what we had to say about the tour in our full review down below.
Emily Sergeant -
28th October 2021 
