Inspired by yesterday's subject -- pie and mash -- I had a chicken and mushroom pie and chips (french fries) for lunch. Some of my colleagues gave me a good-natured ribbing about my taste for British food.

I DO like the British custom of putting salt and vinegar on french fries. But I almost always regret this kind of meal minutes after consuming it. A man on cholesterol medication should NOT eat this sort of thing. Oh well.

The source of my meal was on Leather Lane, one of the many wonderful street markets around London. One of my little pleasures is walking down Leather Lane on the way to work -- around 8:30 in the morning -- as the market is setting up.

At lunchtime, you can buy books, light bulbs, fruit, fruit drinks, clothes and other items. It's a nice way to spend a lunch break.

Well, systems problems keep us from working today, so time lies heavy on my hands. Naturally, it's time to blog.

Pie and mash -- a meat pie and mashed potatoes -- is a meal unique to London and is associated with East London.

Many tourists' first (and only) encounter with pie and mash is at Goddard's in Greenwich, which is handy to the Cutty Sark and the Docklands Light Rail (DLR) Maritime Greenwich station. I like them.

Goddard's serves the classic meat pie, as well as variations like chicken and mushroom, steak and kidney, and cheese and onion. You can get "liquor" -- a green-tinted gravy -- on your pie and mash.

Goddard's offers another East London specialty -- jellied eels. I have yet to work up the nerve to try them. Tell me if you do!

I learned this week that, while the U.S. networks are not giving the political conventions full coverage, you can see gavel-to-gavel action on a BBC channel.

BBC Parliament -- a digital channel which transmits sessions of Parliament -- is running a feed from C-Span. So, we were able to watch some of the Republican National Convention last night. This morning, another BBC digital channel offered a playback of Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's speech to the convention.

BBC Parliament is also available on the Web, as is the Schwarzenegger speech.

My friend Amy Langfield has put together a nice site for folks wanting to visit my hometown, New York, with tips on the best sights, restaurants, etc. It's called Newyorkology. Check it out.

A lazy bank holiday weekend -- Britain's equivalent of Labor Day weekend.

Yesterday, I took in the Hopper exhibit at the Tate Modern. Very nice. "Nighthawks" has its own room and an admiring crowd. It reminded me of the "Mona Lisa" at the Louvre.

If you have a chance to see this wonderful retrospective of Edward Hopper's paintings, move fast. It ends on Sept. 5.

I got to and from the Tate by the fastest -- and possibly nicest -- route: get off at the St. Paul's Tube stop, walk around the back of the cathedral and cross the street, then take the Millenium Bridge to the other side of the Thames and the Tate. Great views!