Wednesday 14th July 2010

Bastille Day today. In Edinburgh it is raining cats and dogs. So what is happening here in the capital today?

Of course the veteran rocker himself – Rod – is on at the Castle tonight – will be a bit wet unless this rain stops soon! Get your macs out with your leopardskin leggings!

Here’s how he was looking at the O2 in Dublin a couple of months back…….pretty good show so if you’re going you are sure to enjoy it! FIrst class musicians – and yes mainly leggy and female!

The campaign to stop Edinburgh airport charging for kiss and fly drivers is, according to The Scotsman, starting to take off. Lothians Conservative MSP Gavin Brown has set up a petition against the move. But Edinburgh Chamber of Commerce are apparently in favour of the move.

Scientists working for Breakthrough Breast Cancer at their research unit at the Western General Hospital in Edinburgh have identified the role that a gene plays in the spread of cancer. The charity claims this to be exciting news in the search for a way of treating HER2 positive breast cancer which affects about 800 women in Scotland each year. The cancer is currently treated with Herceptin. We report the full story here. You can also listen to a discussion by the research leader Dr Elad Katz on Audioboo.

The Owl and Lion in the Grassmarket is looking for artists and crafts people to take up stalls in their craft tent during the Edinburgh Festival. You should expect help in setting up and stall costs and the general support of the cooperative. You can read more here.

Interesting idea by The Guardian to have self service classified ads on its site. You can advertise your festival room or flat in Edinburgh by visiting the website here.

You can see the list of planning applications made in Edinburgh this last week by clicking here. One of these is to change the antenna at the Botanics. Are any of the others in your street? You may wish to object….or not!

Greener Leith report on the advances being made by PEDAL to get a wind turbine erected on Portobello promenade at Seafield.

The Guardian has confirmed its commitment to the Local Blog run until last week by beatblogger Tom Allan. Despite other worthies such as The New York TImes giving up on its local news project, it seems that The Guardian is confident of the future of the blog – and they are about to announce the new incumbent shortly.

Tonight at the Royal Society of Edinburgh there is a talk about Climate Change..

Climate Change During the Last 10,000 Years: Reconstructions and Uncertainties

Professor Heinz Wanner, University of Bonn; Professor John Haslett, Trinity College, Dublin; Professor Gabriele Hegerl, Chair of Climate System Science,School of GeoSciences, University of Edinburgh

Climate has changed substantially since the last Ice Age. Heinz Wanner will present the changes that have been deduced, and how these changes can be inferred from natural archives of past climate change. This indirect evidence records climate changes and other influences, and hence estimates of past climate change are uncertain. John Haslett will explain how this uncertainty can be explored and quantified. Each speaker will talk for 20 minutes, followed by a panel discussion, including Gabriele Hegerl, and audience questions.
This event is organised by ICMS in association with the RSE and further supported by NCAS,SAGES and the Centre for earth System Dynamics, Edinburgh University
Open to all and free to attend – registration required