A couple of books circulating the book swap/booze club are written from the perspective of men with autism-spectrum disorders such as Asperger’s syndrome. This has given the all-female group an excuse to discuss ‘extreme male brain.’ I didn’t realise that the theory actually existed until I looked it up…

Professor of developmental psychopathology Simon Baron-Cohen suggested that the male brain tends toward systemising and mechanistic thinking, treating other people as if they were logical systems or machines. If you take this tendency to an extreme, you would treat everyone as if they were machines without minds or feelings. It’s the essence of autism and Baron-Cohen’s suggestion of autism as a manifestation of the extreme male brain explains why an overwhelming majority of autistics (four out of five) are men and there are relatively few female autistics.

Veronica, the best-read member and natural facilitator of the group, is adamant her super bright husband is a sufferer of ‘extreme male brain.’ He’ll separate the black olives from the green ones that she’s placed in a bowl for him while she cooks, for example. Recently she was running late when she and her husband were expecting guests, she told us. ‘There’s an apple tart in the fridge – just heat that up for them,’ she advised him over her mobile. Her husband put it in a frying pan.
‘What was his rationale?’ I asked, amid the laughter.
‘The tart was a similar size to the pan,’ she said.

I gave an update on Hot Danish’s House Rules. ‘He proudly presented the poorly made bed and towel-free floor on the first day of the new rules,’ I said.
‘Yes, they do that and expect plenty of compliments and a b*** *** to show your gratitude,’ Veronica agreed. There was more laughter.

Veronica has recently experienced an attempted break-in. She woke up to noise, headed downstairs and found a bread knife on the side, the front door off its hinges but no husband in sight: he was running down the street after the burglar, dressed only in his pants. We were impressed. ‘Yes, I’ve been telling him – a lot – what a hero he is,’ she said with pride.