‘So where is this picnic going to be?’ I asked. ‘Is it an actual picnic? I mean, I ate my sandwich on the train and I didn’t bring a rug or a flask or anything.’

They both laughed then, Sandrine in a more mean way. ‘Not a real picnic,’ she said. ‘It’s symbolic.’

She said the word slowly and deliberately – as though I was a stupid person who had never heard it before.

‘Right,’ I said, staring her down. Somehow Samantha’s warmth emboldened me.

‘So where have you sprung from today?’ Samantha asked, linking arms with me as we fell into step together. They seemed to know where they were going.

‘I got the train up from Salisbury,’ I said, thrilled by her familiarity.

Samantha stopped suddenly, gripping my arm harder. ‘You’re kidding – you’re from Salisbury? Me too!’

‘Ha,’ I said. ‘Yes.’ I put on my thickest Wiltshire accent. ‘Oi could tell az zoon as you opened yer mouth you woz one of uz.’

Samantha creased up, literally bending over at the waist and roaring. ‘You are SO FUNNY!’ she shrieked.

Sandrine looked pointedly at her wristwatch. ‘Come on, girls, we’re going in through the fence at Turquoise Gate at eight p.m. That’s a ten-minute walk from here and it’s already five to.’

I didn’t care about her waspish tone. I was basking in the glory of Samantha’s amusement. ‘So where are you really from?’ I asked, ignoring Sandrine.

‘I’m from a town called Lawrence, in Kansas, but I truly have been living in Salisbury for the past couple of months. Staying with my sister’s husband’s sister. Such a small world, hey? And such a cool city.’

I nodded, delighted.

‘What do you do?’ she enquired. ‘Something arty I’ll bet.’

I beamed. ‘No, I’m still at school actually. First year of A levels. What about you?’

‘No way! You look a lot older. Me? I have a law degree from KU, but I decided to travel for a couple of years. Heard about Greenham’ – she pronounced it Green Ham instead of Greenum, as everyone else did – ‘and decided to come check it out. First came last year, and now I have a place to stay, in a yurt over at Turquoise Gate, so I spend quite a bit of time here. I love it!’

‘That’s so cool,’ I said, mentally wincing that I’d copied her word; a word I never normally used.

Sandrine pointed ahead. ‘Here we are. Just in time. They’re cutting the holes.’

‘Our people!’ said Samantha, throwing her arms wide as we surveyed the crowd gathered close to the gate. Some had bear costumes like ours, some had made a token effort by wearing black and white and sporting panda masks. Bears of all different types and sizes were working in silence, huddled around the ones with wire cutters.