Who ate all the pies? It was me, I'm afraid to say

In the space of a few weeks, dear readers, your correspondent has passed from one end of the spectrum to the other.

- Peter Mortimer

You may recall my writing recently about fasting and my own 24-hour fast, which I plan to repeat in the near future.

Fasting puts you in touch with your own body and also reminds you how shamefully indulgent the majority of the western world is compared to most of the planet. We are a load of greedy guzzlers. So thank you to my son Dylan for introducing me to this new occasional challenge.

But now I must report a new experience and in contrast to fasting, I can only describe it as pure gluttony. Allow me to explain.

Some years ago, during the half-time break at Hillheads, home of Whitley Bay FC, such was my hunger, I gobbled down (vegetarians look away now) not one but two meat pies.

This led to the challenge from my friend, lecturer and iconoclast painter Colin Cameron, as to whether I could attempt at a later date to devour three of the same. I duly accepted and took on (successfully) the three-pie challenge but the saga does not end there.

Raising the ante even further, the merciless Colin now mentioned the possibility of a quartet. That's right, a quartet of pies.