Just before Christmas, when we went back to France for a long weekend, we discovered that we had some squatters. As we opened the gates, a series of large birds flew out from the trees near the lavoir (an old washing place, with a stone step at the side so the women could get closer to the water). We stopped the car and watched. Different national approaches to counting led to different estimates of numbers: I counted nine, Alex twelve. Whichever number was right, it was a h