Welsh Village Adopts Long Name to Protest Wind Development
Wind turbines are controversial in the U.K., where some people object to what they claim is the damage — both environmental and aesthetic — the turbines do to the landscape. When Gamesa Energy notified citizens of Llanfynydd in Carmarthenshire, Wales, of their plans to build a test turbine just outside the village to study the feasibility of a larger project, the villagers responded with an unusual protest. They temporarily changed the name of their village to (deep breath) Llanhyfryddawelllehynafolybarcudprindanfygythiadtrienusyrhafnauole, which in Welsh means “a quiet beautiful village, an historic place with rare kite under threat from wretched blades.” Welsh village names reflect historical events, landscape features, and cultural traditions, the villagers say, and the turbine will so alter the character of the village that a name change is warranted. The second (formerly first) longest village name in the U.K. is Llanfairpwllgwyngyllgogerychwyrndrobwllllantysiliogogogoch on Anglesey. No word on what they’re protesting.
