Dull, Boring and Bland communities forge international bond

LONDON — Dull and Boring, meet Bland.

Dull, Scotland and Boring, Oregon, two small communities united by unexciting names, have joined forces with a third: Bland Shire, Australia.

Dull and Boring became sister communities in 2012, after a Scottish woman passed through the U.S. town on a cycling holiday. Officials say the relationship has boosted the profile of both places.

Dull officials on Friday hosted the mayor of the region of Bland Shire, New South Wales, at a reception to celebrate the third member of a club dubbed the League of Extraordinary Communities.

Bland Shire and Boring are both named after early residents, William Bland and William Boring, while Dull’s name may come from a Gaelic word for meadow.

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Boring has a population of about 10,000 while Bland Shire has about 6,000 people and Dull is a hamlet with just 84 occupants.

Dennis Melloy, provost of the Perth and Kinross region that’s home to Dull, said the relationship with Boring and Bland had “created a real feel-good factor for their communities with quirky names.”

And he said the alliance could expand.

“We’ve found Ordinary and Dreary, both in America, and I think they could soon be part of it all,” he said.

The Associated Press

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