Albert Roux

Mr and Mrs Edward Fox

Jane Asher and Gerald Scarfe

Gerald Scarfe and Ian Heath

In parts of Britain and the US, about one per cent of children have been officially diagnosed with autism. No one knows what causes it, or how it can be prevented — there’s no cure and no vaccine.

Autistic children benefit from good education and treatment, and lots of parents say their child’s difficulties have added a new dimension to family life and enriched it.

But it can also be an exhausting, frustrating and devastating disability. Profoundly autistic children sometimes have to go to residential schools, and they might never be able to live independently or earn a living. That’s a huge responsibility for the whole family to face.

So I was keenly interested when my son Daniel introduced me to Colin Barrow, the president of the National Autistic Society’s board of trustees.

Colin is also deputy leader of Westminster Council, and Dan chairs the Hyde Park residents’ association. As I shook Colin’s hand, I remembered what Hanna had told me a few weeks earlier: “Daniel is inviting us to much smarter parties than we’re used to.”

Hanna was right. Showbiz parties are all about designer labels and bling...but I’ve grown out of those, so I usually go in a Hawaiian shirt and flip-flops.

Daniel attends functions where all the men have hand-tied dicky bows. I tried showing up at a lawyers’ ball in a Hawaiian shirt once, and no one was amused, least of all Dan.

Sure enough, the invite Colin and his wife sent, for the National Autistic Society (NAS) annual dinner, at their grand Westminster home, promised to be a real black-tie affair.

It also offered a dinner prepared by Albert Roux, perhaps the greatest chef in the country — the man who transformed British cuisine when he opened Le Gavroche in London 40 years ago.

I’d wear a suit of armour, or Speedo trunks and a feather boa, or even both outfits at once, for an Albert Roux dinner...especially as I knew he would be preparing an exclusive vegetarian option for guests who didn’t eat meat.

Sure enough, his main menu was mouth-watering, and almost enough to tempt me to be a carnivore for the night: canapes of duck roulette and smoked eel, followed by a leek and lobster terrine, with supreme of guinea fowl for the main course.

The veggie choice was equally fabulous — stir-fried vegetables, followed by tomatoes stuffed with rice, and the most succulent fresh fruit.

The guests were a treat too. I chatted to the brilliant cartoonist Gerald Scarfe, who’s married to Jane Asher, the NAS president.

Gerald drew the unforgettable illustrations for Pink Floyd’s The Wall — his art is as instantly recognisable as Dali’s.
Ian Heath, the political cartoonist from Private Eye — and a hundred other places — was there too. I couldn’t believe how young he was.