"Are you still talking about jobs?"

Spent a chilled day visiting friends in St Albans. St Albans is a pretty little commuter town that dates back to 20 BC, when a local Celtic tribe built its capital there. It was then invaded by Romans in 43 AD who renamed it Verulamium. This settlement was subsequently burned down by British queen Boudicca in 61 AD.

Unfortunately, the town has succumbed to the chain-store invasion with small independently-owned boutiques and bookstores being squeezed out by the generic likes of Monsoon, Marks and Spencers, Burger King, Carphone Warehouse, Cafe Rouge, Comfort Inn and countless realtors. Today, the town is largely populated by London commuters who have escaped the capital in search of better schools and safer, greener environments.

My two friends are one of these families who have escaped London "for a better quality of life". On the one hand they are perfectly conventional: table talk today focussed on such middle class, 30-plus-year-old preoccupations as mortgages, people carriers, pensions and DIY. At one point their 3 year old son came up to us and asked: "Are you still talking about jobs?" I replied, "No, honey, we're now talking about schools." To which he replied with disgust, "Oh, I'm going to go outside and play then."

We did manage to laugh at ourselves though. My friend said, "My God, we're turning in to our parents: we're thinking of buying nested tables for the living room." We groaned and she hastily added, "But they're trendy, acrylic, see-through nested tables!" Phew!

On the other hand, they're very unconventional. They're in a mixed-race (Bengali and Welsh), lesbian relationship and have two boys from two fathers through artificial insemination. One works with poor Bangladeshi families in Tower Hamlets and the other works on the Civil Partnership Bill that seeks legal protections for same-sex partnerships.

Okay, back to my conventional life: laundry, cooking, and paying some bills.