News broke last week of a new calendar that has hit the shops of Wales, but that has been branded as so “dull”, it has failed to sell a single copy! Here at the Oakeley Arms Hotel we know that  in Wales, the scenery, surroundings, countryside and people are far from dull so just what is it about this non-selling calendar that hasn’t hit the mark?

Well, the 2014 calendar features a selection of the finest “Fast Disappearing Red Telephone Boxes of Wales” and even it’s publisher admits that they may have taken the “dull” theme a step too far. Publisher Kevin Beresford, who has also been responsible for a 2012 hit calendar (“Roundabouts of Great Britain) has recently confessed that his latest publication featuring the telephone boxes has failed to sell a single copy so far.

By Rick Harris on wikicommons

So, it got us to thinking about dull things and places….. and we came across a poll taken this year by a popular website, to find the country’s dullest towns. Places like Hemel Hempstead, Luton, Slough, Birmingham, Coventry, Hatfield and Gateshead are among the places that came top of the poll! Oh dear. The survey comes from the publishers who printed Crap Towns: The 50 Worst Places to Live in the UK. The first edition was published in 2003 and sold 100,000 copies! A new edition is planned after the publishers have given the listed towns a decade to take drastic action to ensure they don’t make another appearance in the book!

One thing’s for sure – Snowdonia certainly won’t be making an appearance on the list. And if you don’t believe us, come and find out why for yourself!

Read the full story of the year’s most boring calendar at http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-25013411