Last night, after we settled into our inn in Swansea, we set out for Penarth, a suburb of the Welsh capital, Cardiff, to meet up with Tom Anderson, a wind power activist. (Peter works at King with Christian Perry, a friend of Tom’s.) Up until this point, we had become somewhat cocky about our abilities to read maps, follow directions, and arrive easily at our destination. As previous posts have shown, cockiness always leads to misfortune. On our way to meet Tom at an Italian restaurant, we became dreadfully lost and ended up in downtown Cardiff when we should have been in the city center of Penarth. Countless phone calls to Tom – thank goodness we invested in a cell phone – proved fruitless as we attempted to find our way out of Cardiff and into Penarth. We even ignored his instructions at one point to “stay put” so that he could come and find us. We finally heeded Tom’s advice and parked in a vacant car park (parking lot) of a football (soccer) stadium. Tom found us there and led us to safety and really good pizza. (That would be Italy-style pizza – super thin crust, just a hint of mild tomato sauce, prosciutto, fresh mozzarella and rocket [arugula] - absolutely out of this world.) We had a wonderful dinner with Tom and his girlfriend, Breige, and it was nice to hang out with other people (not that we aren’t enjoying spending time with each other, because we are!).

Tom and Breige are activists in the Scarweather Sands Windfarm project.  This project proposed 30 off shore wind turbines, located about 3 miles from the shores of Cardiff and Swansea.  They lobbied against the installation of this site for many reasons.  First, it would have been a major eyesore for residents of the area and it could have negatively impacted tourism and surfing (Tom and Breige are semi-pro surfers).  Secondly, and more importantly, they were not impressed with the way in which the project went forward.  While the company proposing the site, United Utilities, formed an assembly to gauge public opinion, lawmakers went against the residents’ opposition and gave the “green light” to the project.  Furthermore, the scientific analysis of the environmental impact on the area completed by United Utilities was poorly done, and, quite frankly, not very scientific (our innkeeper in Swansea gave me a copy of the analysis). 

In my opinion, this situation represents a worst case scenario for wind power.  Its massive scale might set a precedent for what is acceptable, and open the door for larger and more intrusive sites. Furthermore, the poor relationship between the utility company, the government, and the local citizens set up a negative working relationship, giving green power a bad name.

We’re off to interview some pro-wind and anti-wind activists.  More updates to come!

• The British don’t use bars of soap. They use shower gel.
• Bruce Springsteen, Billy Joel, and Gloria Estefan are ubiquitous. Surprisingly, James Blunt is not.
• If someone tells you it might “chuck buckets,” bring an umbrella.
• When crossing the street, look right, look left, look up, and look down. Because, as an American, you’re never quite sure from which direction the traffic is coming.
• Advice from a British motorist: “If it feels wrong, then you’re doing it right.”
• The British generally do not wear t-shirts with writing. Americans do. Only Americans. So when dining in a nice restaurant, do not wear your Moss Mountain Project t-shirt.

I’m glad we’re heading out of the country in six days. It has become increasingly difficult to sequester myself from any information regarding the Sopranos’ series finale. I’m hoping Tony Blair’s last few days in office will trump news about my favorite fictitious mobsters.