The Delightfully Dull, Brilliantly Boring Evening takes place at University on 15 May
Most events when trying to entice people to attend boast of exciting speakers and dynamic topics. The Delightfully Dull, Brilliantly Boring Evening, to be held at the University of Central Lancashire (UCLan), could not be more different.
The event, on 15 May, is the brainchild of UK boredom expert Dr Sandi Mann, who has been researching boredom for over 15 years and is known affectionately as ‘Dr Boredom’.
She has joined forces with Grover Click, an American who was one of the founders of the worldwide Dull Men’s Club (DMC), a tongue-in-cheek club designed to ‘celebrate the ordinary’.
Dr Mann, author of The Science of Boredom; the Upside of Downtime (Little Brown), said: “In today’s switched on world, we are constantly seeking novelty and stimulation. The more we get the more we want and this is why boredom is creeping in. What the Dull Men are doing is countering this quest for ever-increasing excitement by finding thrills in more mundane things. The Delightfully Dull, Brilliantly Boring Evening will explain how we can all get off our devices and start appreciating the world around us – and how we will all be happier for it.”
"The Delightfully Dull, Brilliantly Boring Evening will explain how we can all get off our devices and start appreciating the world around us – and how we will all be happier for it."
There are now more than 21,000 members of the DMC’s Facebook group. Members of the group share their passions for seemingly dull things like apostrophe correcting, drainspotting, roundabout spotting, extensive collections of milk bottles, traffic cones, lawnmowers, vacuum cleaners, and following every brown sign they come across.
Grover said: “The point about these hobbies and interests is that, while they might appear to be dull as ditchwater, they actually are surprisingly fascinating. This evening in Preston celebrates that and promises to be something very different. It will be entertaining in a whole new way.”
The 2017.4 Anorak of the Year Award will be presented to a person who has done exemplary work in ‘Celebrating the Ordinary’. (The .4 because we are now 40% of the way into 2018.) This will be the first time the DMC has presented such an award.
The DMC has published two calendars and one book, Dull Men of Great Britain: Celebrating the Ordinary (Penguin Random House). Dulluminaries from these publications will be at the special occasion for you to meet.
The Delightfully Dull, Brilliantly Boring Evening will take place from 6.00pm until 8.00pm on 15 May at the Preston Campus.
Tickets range in price from £8.68 to £11.37 and can be booked on Eventbrite https://www.eventbrite.com/e/delightfully-dull-brilliantly-boring-evening-tickets-44947761966
For more information contact Sandi Mann