At lunchtime on the 11th January, Ben Hayes, Thomas Kraft and myself took a decidedly touristic approach to Angel, courtesy of the number 4 omnibus. However, its long and circuitous journey from Waterloo exacted its toll on our physical and mental prosperity and we arrived at Chapel Market feeling weak and late, but not a week a late. We discovered many friendly faces scattered among the booths, among them Tom Leader who had already ensured his own success by turning up promptly and consuming the last of the hot eels. It meant that the determined and less punctual point-accumulators had to 'suck the jelly'.

But let me tell you what delicacies these jellied eels were; the fishy flesh was firm to the fork and full of flavour. A bit like revenge, this dish is best enjoyed cold – and alone. I prefer it as a starter with a splash of hot sauce, followed by the hot pies and mash as a main course. Because mixing and matching mouthfuls of hot and cold food makes me feel like being sick.

It was a pleasure to see these young blades, Matt and Chris, basking in the warm afterglow which follows a plateful of wholesome vittles. I think the nation can rest assured that its fashion industry is in safe hands, with a return to 'traditional lines', flat caps and pearl-encrusted accessories. By the way, whatever happened to the art of doffing?

Despite his portrait of biliousness, our reigning chomp Rikk Lucas 'kept the goodness in', leaving a clean plate and Manze's chequered tiles unbesplattered. Our pies were a well-seasoned and tasty confection, greeted with gratitude by us, the weary travellers. Of necessity conversation was sparse, punctuated with gentle bovine moos of appreciation.

I thought Chapel Market was a bit subdued, and this was reflected to a degree in Manze's. Perhaps it was down to impending pavement widening works. Let's hope that disruption to business is kept to a minimum in the coming months, as this old-fashioned street market shop offers top notch nourishing nosh in the most traditional of settings. And, notwithstanding the various times of arrival, this counted as a most excellent Pie and Mash Club event, with 14 pie-ticipants helping to boost Manze's takings at a tough time of year for traders. Well done you lot, give yourself a big pie on the back.

St@