Village of Dull wants to forge ties with town of Boring

The Perthshire village of Dull is attempting to forge ties with the American town of Boring in Oregon. The potential link between the two places was the brainchild of Perthshire resident Elizabeth Leighton, who passed through Boring while on a cycling holiday. Boring is to consider Dull's request to become a "sister community".

If the plan goes ahead, a new road sign at Dull would highlight the partnership. Boring is best known for its timber logging and has a population of 12,000 - making it too large to be officially twinned with the tiny village of Dull. Officials in Boring will consider the idea of a partnership when the proposal is formally put to the town's planning organisation in just over a month's time.



Dull community councillor Marjorie Keddie said: "It might seem like a joke, but this could have real benefits for Dull. Everyone has been smiling at the prospect of the very eye-catching road sign this will inevitably require." Jim Hart, a journalist with Boring's newspaper, The Sandy Post, has already spoken to people in Dull to find out if they have anything in common.

He said: "One of the things our communities share is the weather. We get a lot of rain and snow every year." Boring was named after William H. Boring, an early resident of the area and former Union soldier in the American civil war. Dull's name may have come from the Gaelic word for meadow, although others have speculated that the origins could be connected to the Gaelic word "dul" meaning snare.