Dull and Boring? Not any more for Scottish village and US town

http://www.theguardian.com/uk/2012/jun/06/dull-and-boring-scottish-village

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As its name might suggest, not much happens in the small village of Dull, a one-street dwelling on the north side of the valley of the river Tay in Perthshire. But life has become a little more exciting as the village became a "sister community" with the US town of Boring.

For a place whose meaning ranges from intellectually weak or obtuse to stupid, dispirited and depressed, the residents of Dull are not as sluggish as the name of their village might suggest. Canny residents with a keen eye for the tourist dollar have linked the two uninspiringly named places in the hope that visitors will be drawn by the lure of a comical signpost snap.

The marriage of convenience was mooted after Elizabeth Leighton, who lives in Aberfeldy, near the Scottish village, was on a cycling holiday in the US and passed through Boring, Oregon.

Before long Dull and Weem community council was in – presumably interminable – talks with Steve Bates, chairman of the Boring community planning organisation, to discuss the possibility of twinning the communities. But while Dull – thought to have derived its name from the Pictish word for fields – has a mere 84 residents, Boring – named after William H Boring, an early resident of the area – has a population of more than 10,000, scuppering chances of the two being officially twinned.

Determined to cement the links forged by the two names, the places have now become "sister communities", and could carry signs such as "Dull, in association with Boring" or "Dull, in sisterhood with Boring". Residents of both places wait with bated breath as officials in Boring, which is six hours behind the UK, voted on whether they could be officially linked. Any fears were quickly assuaged though as the Boring Community Planning Organisation in Oregon voted to make the two communities "a pair for the ages".

Marjorie Keddie, chairman of Dull and Weem community council, has planned a celebratory street party for Saturday 23 June, to which all of Dull's residents will be invited.

"The party will show that we are neither dull nor boring," said Keddie. "We are also excited at the prospect of a new road sign, which will say something like 'Dull, in association with Boring' or 'in sisterhood with Boring'. I'm sure it will stop a few people in their tracks for photos."

She Dull had been sent a mock-up of a declaration with Wednesday's date, which states: "Boring in Oregon has become a sister community with Dull, Scotland."

Keddie, 68, who lives in Dull, said the village's residents hoped to bring more tourism to the area with the move. "Already we've had four cyclists from overseas, who were travelling from John O'Groats to Land's End, stop here," she said. "It wasn't on their original route, but they had heard about it because of what's been going on and decided to do a stop-off in Dull. Extra tourism is the main reason we're doing this as most of the businesses here are holiday homes and lodges."