The actions of an American have caused outrage among Brits on social media this week.
Sound familiar? Well it’s probably not a shock at this point, as within just the past year alone, the British corner of the internet has erupted when Americans had a few choice words to say about our classic fry-up breakfasts – and even tried to recreate their own – and then over on Reddit, Americans just couldn’t seem to believe their eyes when they discovered what British “face meats” were – also known as Billy Bear Ham to us.
That outrage is a two way street though.
We can’t go forgetting the American mother-daughter TikTok duo that caused havoc last summer with their “hot tea / British tea” and “beans on toast” recipes, can we?
So, what have Americans done to rile up Brits this time then?
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Back over on popular social media forum Reddit, a Seattle-based resident has seemingly ignited fury, frustration and no shortage of laughs by sharing proof of his geographically-challenged wife’s attempt at labelling a number of locations around the UK and Ireland, with the names of cities, regions and entire countries all mixed up.
Reddit user @adms13 posted a diagram of the British Isles to the popular sub-Reddit forum CasualUK on Tuesday evening, explaining: “I asked my wife to fill in a map of the UK (we’re both American)”.
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“Her extent of UK knowledge comes from watching Top Gear with me at night.” he admitted.
While she has gotten a few locations right in her reimagining of the UK, by managing to accurately identify London, Surrey, Cornwall, the Isle of Man, and most importantly to us Mancunians, Manchester, the rest all went downhill from there.
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In some of the more shocking changes, Cheshire was found all the way down to the south-east coast, Canterbury was mysteriously renamed “the ferry”, the Midlands were moved some way up the country towards the border with Scotland, Liverpool was placed where Dumfries is, and Dublin was located in Northern Ireland – which, she clarified, was “definitely Ireland”.
“I don’t think people live here,” she wrote over the Scottish Highlands.
But possibly the most hilarious error of them all was her labelling of the entire nation of Ireland with “Wales?” and the real Wales being left off the map entirely, with “No idea what’s over here… maybe Birmingham?” scrawled over the top of it.
“Is it possible to upset everyone at once?” one user responded, while another said: “Well this is horrifying” and a third commented: “I don’t get how someone knows seven cities in the UK and their location (roundabouts), but not Wales and Ireland”.
A Belfast-based user said the map made them “apoplectic with rage”.
Not everyone was out to critique though, with some commenters applauding her efforts saying it was “almost great for an American attempt” given the stereotype that Americans are oblivious to the world outside the USA, and other Brits admitting they’d also struggle to label all 50 states if the tables were turned.
Manc music legends James announce MASSIVE hometown show
Danny Jones
Greater Manchester music legends James have just revealed a massive hometown show here in the city centre as part of a landmark domestic arena tour.
Daisy bucket hats at the ready.
James is arguably the epitome of what it is to be the understated, underdog British band; they’ve gone about the business of making quality music somewhat quietly for several decades now, but they’ve had a fresh wave of interest over the past year or so
Having opened up for the likes of Catfish and the Bottlemen’s comeback shows, not to mention playing multiple big festival slots in recent months alone, they’ve now announced a huge run of UK arena shows – and nowhere does a James crowd quite like us Mancs.
Details have been announced for our 2026 UK arena tour, and we’re delighted to be joined by very special guests @dovesmusicblog with tickets going on general sale this Friday at 9:30am. Access the ticket pre-sale on Wednesday via our official store: https://t.co/DwpGrAUESZ NBL x pic.twitter.com/A4CWVpCooL
Announced as part of the celebrations around their Nothing But Love ‘best of’ LP, which pulls tracks from James’ whopping 18 studio albums, the new run of UK arena shows in 2026 follows on from numerous noteworthy shows this calendar year.
In addition to the aforementioned outdoor gigs, like their stunning sold-out night at The Piece Hall in Halifax – not too far from frontman Tim Booth’s hometown in Yorkshire – the indie veterans also celebrated a huge landmark in 2025.
Surpassing the milestone of 40 years as a band, with a lineup that’s remained largely intact and only really grown in terms of live session players and touring bandmates.
The new “definitive” greatest hits record also includes two brand-new songs in ‘Wake Up Superman’ and ‘Hallelujah Anyhow’, both of which are produced by Leo Abrahams, who worked with the band on their long-awaited number one album Yummy in 2024 – a feat loooong overdue if you ask us.
As evidenced by the sheer amount of new material they continue to put out and the almost non-stop touring, they remain one of the most prolific artists in the country. FACT.
You can see the rest of James’ upcoming tour dates, including a healthy number of Northern stops in the likes of Liverpool, Leeds and more.
James UK arena tour dates 2026
Fri 2 Birmingham Utilita Arena
Sat 4 Leeds First Direct Bank Arena
Tues 7 Aberdeen P&J Live
Wed 8 Glasgow OVO Hydro
Fri 10 Newcastle Utilita Arena
Sat 11 Liverpool M&S Bank Arena
Mon 13 Cardiff Utilita Arena
Tues 14 Nottingham Motorpoint Arena
Fri 17 London The O2
Sat 18 Manchester Co-op Live
With James returning to Manchester for their Co-op Live arena debut next April, along with a sensational support slot from fellow local legends, Doves (I know, how lucky are you lot?!), you can bank on this one selling out quickly.
General admission goes on sale this Friday, 10 October at 9:30am, so you’d better be ready to grab yours in a flash.
You can find the ticket link HERE, and we’ll see you in the crowd for a good ol’ singalong.
Featured Images — Ehud Lazin/Press shots (supplied)
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Electronic icons Kraftwerk announce first Manchester gig since 2017
Danny Jones
Pioneering German band Kraftwerk have announced their first UK tour since 2017, with fans having to wait almost a decade for another Manchester gig.
Thankfully, they’ll be heading back down the Autobahn and across the channel for a return to our shores soon enough with a long-awaited list of British and Irish live dates.
Kraftwerk remains one of the most groundbreaking groups in the electronic scene to this day, having paved the way for generations of new artists to keep experimenting with the genre in the 50+ years since their formation.
Heading back to Manchester early next year, die-hards will no doubt snap these tickets faster than you can say ‘Das Model’.
For anyone unaware of these veritable legends of electronica and the world of alternative/Euro-synth pop, Kraftwerk formed all the way back in 1970 and went on to shape the modern music industry, bridging the gap between music and the digital age.
Best known for tracks like ‘Computer Love’, ‘The Robots’, ‘Pocket Calculator’ and the aforementioned on named after the national motorway network, they spearheaded futurism in the musical landscape from the outset.
It seems only fitting, therefore, that their upcoming highly anticipated return to the UK comes as part of their ‘Multimedia’ tour.
While they have played a number of live shows all over the globe this year, including an extensive run in the US, next spring will be our domestic visit from Kraftwerk in nine long years.
Credit: Press shot (supplied)
You can see the full list of UK and Ireland tour dates – including a handful of Northern gigs – down below:
Spanning a total of 15 UK dates, as you can see, there will also be tickets to see Kraftwerk nearby in the likes of Liverpool and with our mates over in Sheffield.
Kraftwerk legend Ralf Hütter famously played a set inside our city’s velodrome at the National Cycling Centre for Manchester International Festival (MIF) back in 2009, and has collaborated with the event on multiple ocassions.
In fact, that very performance was seen as a turning point for MIF, so the Manc Kraftwerk connection speaks for itself; O2 members can obviously get pre-sale, but general admission tickets go live from 9am this Friday, 10 October.
Emily Sergeant -
5th May 2021 
