Talk of the Town: Potter site loses a bit of its magic

IT was supposed to be a place for fans of Harry Potter to share their thoughts and explore the magical world of the boy wizard.

But it has emerged that the Pottermore interactive fan site is still not open to the public – five months after the launch date.

Now the lucky million fans who have been able to experience the site have revealed some of the problems, with beta users talking about difficulty casting spells, problems with the sorting hat and that most evil of all computer problems, the dreaded crash.

One positive is that such things are almost certainly not the work of the Dark Lord, but simply technical glitches.

Volleyball tip-off has councillor jumping for joy

THERE’S nothing like the mention of a strapping team of athletes to liven up a committee meeting.

City centre representative Joanna Mowat had her colleagues chuckling after highlighting the arrival of Team GB’s pre-Olympic men’s volleyball in Edinburgh in June.

“I notice we’re getting the men’s beach volleyball – that’s a disappointment isn’t it?” she quipped at the cultural and leisure meeting yesterday.

But any hopes of seeing any bare chests were dashed when one council official pointed out that the event is actually indoor volleyball.

Breaking with tradition

BREAKFAST is the most important meal of the day and for people in the Capital it’s either the most relaxing or the most rushed as well.

A new survey has revealed that the dining table is no longer the most popular place to eat breakfast in Edinburgh, with more people preferring to enjoy a leisurely breakfast on the sofa.

Not everyone has their feet up though, with many of those questioned admitting that they shunned the table in favour of their desks at the office or grabbing something on their commute.

The figures, from a well-known high-street baker, may not be so surprising – 63 per cent of the people asked said they didn’t actually have a dining table.

Still on the ball beyond 80

THERE were more than a few heart-stopping moments recently when two veteran squash players competed for the first ever Over-80s Squash Final in Scotland.

One of the finalists was our very own Alex Hamilton, who beat his regular playing partner and fellow octogenarian Andy Jack.

There was concern at one point when referee Ian Graydon called out “stroke to Jack” – though fortunately it was a simple squash call and not a medical emergency.