Talk of the Town: Magic boots have a lot going for them

FOR the Harry Potter fan who already has it all.

A pair of boots worn by JK Rowling while she was writing Harry Potter is going under the hammer, having surfaced 12 years after they were sent to the US.

The Edinburgh author donated them to Harrison Elementary School in Omaha in 1999 for a project which saw celebrities write about their lives from the perspective of their footwear.

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The boots came with a note from Rowling saying they “carried my owner all over Edinburgh in search of good cafes to write in”.

But they also recalled an incident from her teaching career when they were mocked by a student who called them “kinky”.

Internet driven off track

WE are well used to having more than one season in a day in Edinburgh.

And if you look at the city centre using Google’s Streetview tool, that really is the case. A virtual trip down North Bank Street, just up from the Mound, shows summer in full bloom and the trees full with lush green leaves.

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Yet one click further down the street to pass the junction with Market Street and suddenly it looks a lot colder, the weather is much more overcast, everyone is wrapped up in winter coats and the trees have lost all their leaves.

The reason, of course, was that Google couldn’t get access to the Mound when they originally captured Edinburgh’s streets because of tram works, so had to go back to film it later.

Dogs take to the catwalk

WELL-GROOMED pooches are to take to the red carpet this Saturday for a show guaranteed to turn the catwalk on its head.

The “dogwalk” will showcase 30 adorable mutts at the Dogs Trust West Calder.

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The beauty show is designed to showcase the many heavenly hounds at the centre who are seeking a new home.

The dogs will take three turns of the “dogwalk” and special accolades for the oldest and springiest dogs and best legs will be handed out.

Bumper bids by boffins

THERE have been many depressing consequences of the banking crisis. Though few would have predicted that it would sprout a whole new generation of would-be boffins.

But EDTC Technology Gateway, at Edinburgh Napier University, has reported a 33 per cent rise in new inventors seeking its help since this time last year. Perhaps one bright spark can now invent a time machine so we could avert the whole mess in the first place.