WHO says boring has to be bad? These blokes are proud to be Britain’s dullest men. With their curious collections, the eccentrics are hailed in new book Dull Men Of Great Britain, produced by – who else? – the Dull Men’s Club.
Book ... the Dull Men's Club's new release
It aims to “celebrate the ordinary” and the club’s website, where dull men across the world share dull deeds, boasts it is “a place where dull men can escape the pressure to be trendy – and instead be free to enjoy simple, ordinary things”. Here, LEE PRICE – who collects football management simulator games – meets some of the UK’s most humdrum hobby fans.
Cone fanatic
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He’s the envy of every drunk student in the land. DAVID MORGAN, who lives in the Cotswolds, has the world’s largest collection of traffic cones. And they’re not all from Britain’s roadworks. Of the cones he has dotted around his house – and there are more than 500 of them – one comes from Malaysia, which David, 73, found washed up on a beach in Sicily. One of his oldest cones dates back to 1956.
Handsaw expert
Handy-work ... Simon Barley has collected 1,500 saws GEOFF ROBINSON PHOTOGRAPHY
This collection is a sight for saw eyes. Retired doctor SIMON BARLEY, from the Lake District, has obsessively collected 1,500 handsaws. Incredibly, the 77-year-old has become a world expert in the field, completing a PhD and even writing a book on the subject.
Bandstand lover
Stand-ing ovation ... Paul Rabbitts has visited 300 bandstands GEOFF ROBINSON PHOTOGRAPHY
This guy’s hobby has a grand standing – he travels the country visiting bandstands. PAUL RABBITTS, 49, from Leighton Buzzard, Beds, has visited an incredible 300 so far. He has even written two books on the attractions and had one example tattooed on his arm.
Hill measurers
Made to measure ... John Barnard, Myrddyn Phillips and Graham Jackson GEOFF ROBINSON PHOTOGRAPHY
JOHN BARNARD, MYRDDYN PHILLIPS and GRAHAM JACKSON love making a mountain out of a molehill. They spend their weekends measuring hills to see if they really are mountains (more than 2,000ft above sea level). The trio flag up discrepancies to Ordnance Survey officials.
History-loving MICK CHESTER, from East Cowes on the Isle of Wight, loves getting his teeth into a bit of plaque spotting. The 50-year-old is the founder of The Plaque Appreciation Society and spends most of his spare time photographing them across the country.
Tank renovator
Built like a tank ... Anthony Cook renovated a wartime machine GEOFF ROBINSON PHOTOGRAPHY
Wham, bam, and tank you man – ANTHONY COOK has built a World War One tank, such is his love for the wartime vehicles. The 59-year-old keeps the machine on his driveway in Cottenham, Cambs. Clearly, it steamrollered its way into the book.
Postbox snapper
Keep posted ... retired postie Peter Willis GEOFF ROBINSON PHOTOGRAPHY
PETER WILLIS is a first-class obsessive – he’s out to photograph as many of Britain’s postboxes as he can. The 70-year-old retired postie, from Worcester, has a collection documenting 2,500 examples. That means there’s only another 113,500 to go . . .
Bottle collector
Got milk ... Steve Wheeler with his 20,000 milk bottles
Meet the man with a lot of bottle, quite literally. STEVE WHEELER, from Malvern, Worcs, has spent the past 30 years collecting milk bottles. In that time, the 66-year-old has amassed a staggering 20,000 examples, and he keeps all of them at home, though none on his doorstep.
Mowing diarist
One man went to mow ... David Grisenthwaite records his mowing GEOFF ROBINSON PHOTOGRAPHY
Pensioner DAVID GRISENTHWAITE has a hobby that is a cut above the rest.
The 87-year-old, from Kirkcaldy in Fife, has kept notes every time he has mown the lawn since 1984 – and reckons he now spends an extra six weeks every year keeping his garden trim.
...And this man collects manhole covers
Labour of love ... Jeremy Corbyn reveals his odd passion David New
This tedius chap must be a bit of a drain on conversation – he’s obsessed with manhole covers. Politician Jeremy Corbyn, 66, from Islington, North London, collects photographs of the cast iron fittings.
Under cover ... Corbyn secretly likes taking photos of drain covers Getty Images
He said: “My mother always said there’s history in drain covers. I take pictures of them. “People think it’s a little odd, but there we are.”
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