China grieves ‘Old dry uncle Keith’ and his bland British food

Millions of people on social media in China are mourning a British man who became an internet sensation for his choice of sandwiches.
Keith Brown, rose to prominence after his wife ‘Jane’ (Zhang Jian) began posting videos of him making his daily sandwiches and snacks on Douyin – the Chinese version of TikTok.
Videos of the retired petroleum engineer making ham and tomato sandwiches, as well as egg and soldiers, startled Chinese viewers.
The Chinese, known for their dishes that have become loved worldwide, could not understand why Keith would make such dry food.
Watch old dry Keith make his signature avocado and salmon sandwich
One comment joked: “Could you lend me a piece of that dry bread? I can’t find my bath towel.”
“If you take a bite of this thing without drinking water, your neck will stretch two miles,” another said.
One viewer compared the sound of Keith scraping butter on bread to a bricklayer scraping cement on bricks.
But despite the jokes, he became a much-loved sensation among his Chinese fans.
His account reached over one million followers on Douyin.
Jane from northeast China, announced his death on Douyin and received a flood of tributes and condolences.
“I will remember old dry uncle forever, he is really an interesting old man,” one read.
The hashtag DryUnclePassedAway on the Chinese social media platform Weibo has gained 170 million views and prompted more than 26,000 discussions.
Jane told The Times that Keith was diagnosed with bone cancer two months before he died.
She documented his battle with the disease on social media.
“The uncle was really reluctant to leave this world, because he still had many dreams to realise. He wanted to repair his sailboat and go sailing and fishing,” Jane said in a statement on social media.
“There were also dreams such as photography waiting for him to realise. It was a pity that the disease did not give him the time and took the uncle away.”
Heartbreakingly, she added that she was not by his side during his final moments, as she was preparing dinner.
The pair, who met in Malaysia in 2007 and moved to the UK, had a teenage son.
Subscribe free to our weekly newsletter for exclusive and original coverage from ITV News. Direct to your inbox every Friday morning.
Want a quick and expert briefing on the biggest news stories? Listen to our latest podcasts to find out What You Need To know…