Pompey hooked on afternoon tea in London

LONDON – Yes, drinking tea at around 1:30 p.m. here is as good as advertised.

But to be honest, I thought it would be corny.

Seriously! Who has time to take a break from their busy day to sit down for 30 minutes or so to drink tea? That was my thought after leaving my hotel room around 1:20 Monday to get a quick bite to eat before rushing to the NBA office here.

However, the hotel lobby was packed with people – mostly in suits – who actually rented tables to drink tea. After staring at people having a good time, I decided to give it a try. Guess who's hooked?

Suddenly, my weariness following a red-eye flight to London disappeared. Nor did I think about the three hours it took me to get to my hotel room from the time my plane landed at Heathrow International. (Let's just say customs, baggage claim and taxi ride took forever.)

My cups of tea were relaxing. The fish and chips weren't bad, either.

Confession: My first cup was without milk. After being notified on Twitter that milk was a must, the mistake wasn't repeated.

So, guess what? An afternoon tea break will definitely be a priority the rest of the week.

I actually arrived at my 3 p.m. interview at the NBA office around 15 minutes early. That was cool, because I got a tour of the place. I walked away impressed with the league employees and the office.

The first day here was a great one. My two taxi drivers provided great conversation and insight. My driver from the airport grew up with Billy Ocean. Then my driver to the NBA office was a die-hard NCAA basketball fan.

Even doing an Instagram live chat while walking back to the hotel was fun. But that's it for now. It's time for me to relax a little bit. But  I'll definitely chat with y'all again, on Tuesday.

Peace.