JAMES Ward, organiser of this year's Boring conference -- a gathering dedicated to the delights of the mundane, obvious and overlooked -- has a problem. He is worried it is in danger of being too interesting.

Such was the success of the inaugural event last year in London that the series of talks has attracted a line-up of speakers, including author Jon Ronson, who, it is feared, could entertain the sell-out audience.

In a sign of the level of expectation, a Canadian documentary team has already been despatched to record proceedings. Canada is said to be a hotbed of activism in the global boring movement.

Mr Ward founded 2010's Boring conference initially as a joke on Twitter following the cancellation of a rival 'Interesting' conference.

Four hundred tickets have already been sold, and a glance at the list of topics is certainly enough to get the pulse racing. Before lunch, conference-goers will hear about toilets and hand dryers. Later the action hots up with a seminar on the square root of two and a talk on civil aircraft. The dizzying finale includes discussions on vending machines and concrete overpasses.

Rhodri Marsden, who will be discussing his inability to make small talk, said anyone expecting to be bored would be let down.

"It's a bit of a misnomer," he said. "People are intrigued by the idea of considering stuff that we wouldn't normally ponder." (© Independent News Service)

Irish Independent