Llanddewi Brefi is a village of some 500 inhabitants located on the banks of river Tywi in the county of Ceredigion in Wales. Lying between Lampeter and Tregaron, its Welsh name is translated as the "church of David on the stream".
Its fame once rested on its connections with Saint David, the patron saint of Wales. First because of the tale that David was supposed to have preached there, when the ground is said to have risen up beneath his feet so that all around could hear his sermon, and second because it was the location of the sixth century Synod of Brefi when David spoke against the Pelagian heresy.
It is now far more famous as the home of the fictional character "Daffyd", the "only gay in the village" who features in the BBC comedy programme Little Britain. This new source of attention has resulted in two objections by locals, first that fans of the series have been held responsible for removing all three of the village's road signs and second is that David Walliams and Matt Lucas do not know how to spell Dafydd.
One business like shopkeeper has begun selling t-shirts bearing the slogan "Dafydd isn't the only gay in Llanddewi Brefi" in anticipation perhaps of an new influx of English tourists.
Table of References
- http://www.genuki.org.uk/big/wal/CGN/Llanddewibrefi/Kellys1895.html
- web.ukonline.co.uk/cj.tolley/ctm/ctm-llanddewibrefi.htm
- Assembly urged to aid Llanddewi Brefi
http://icwales.icnetwork.co.uk/
- Village's last laugh at TV comedy
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/wales/mid/3737126.stm