The Xtra Diary - Labour Party leader Ed Miliband dreams of free ‘snore surgery’
Published: 13 May, 2011
IT sounds like a twisted tale worthy of a title akin to one of the Harry Potter books: Ed Miliband and the Deviated Septum.
But the Labour Party leader is going to need a blast of Hogwarts magic if he is to get his “snoring surgery” for free on the National Health Service.
Mr Miliband (pictured) announced on Friday that he will have a “routine operation to correct his deviated septum at the end of July with the NHS”.
Yet a controversial scaling back of so-called “Low Priority Treatments” (LPT) on the NHS in north London means the 43-year-old will have to convince his GP he is a “special case”.
Failing that, he will be forced to either go private – or travel miles away from his home – to get his nostrils treated.
“We do not intend to comment further,” a Labour spokesman told Diary. But a blacklist of treatments – including “surgery for snoring” and “correcting deviated septum” – was drawn up by Mr Miliband’s local health body, the North Central London NHS sector trust, in February.
The government is currently compiling a national list of Low Priority Treatments to bring an end to regional variations.
The move would save the NHS £500m a year, according to a report from the Audit Commission.
Raven about writer’s grave in Westminster
WHO knew Edgar Allan Poe was buried in Westminster Cemetery? Not the one in Mill Hill operated by the city council and famously sold off during Shirley Porter’s reign, but the one in Baltimore, USA.
On a trip to the “charm city” last week, Diary happened upon the small burial ground and stopped to pay its respects to the great American writer famous for his Gothic style.
A stone raven perches on top of Poe’s gravestone, which is engraved with a line from the author’s most famous poem (“Quoth the raven, ‘Nevermore’”) and lies close to the grave of his grandfather David Poe, who emigrated to America from Ireland.
The cemetery surrounds Westminster Hall, a former presbyterian church.
Appropriately enough, it is just a short drive away from Pimlico, a northern suburb of Baltimore famous for its racecourse.
Poe was born in Boston and lived for a time in Stoke Newington before moving back to the States. One of his short stories, The Man of the Crowd, follows its narrator through the crowded streets of central London, possibly Westminster.
Baltimore City Council recently cut funding to The Poe Museum, which is based in a house once inhabited by the writer, sparking petitions and protests.
In Fells Point, an artistic and bohemian district of the city, several buildings are adorned with banners declaring “Save the Poe House” and “Pennies for Poe”.
Fly girl in the East End
SHE befriended a nonagenarian escapee from a concentration camp and flies Spitfires for fun, so perhaps it’s appropriate that Marylebone resident Katy Carr is taking her banjolele to the area of London hit hardest during the Blitz – the East End.
Musician Katy performed earlier this year at the Polish Embassy, where she appeared alongside 91-year-old Kazik Piechowski, who she tracked down after seeing a documentary about his amazing life.
In 1942 Kazik escaped from Auschwitz, where he had been forced to work as a slave labourer because of his involvement in the Polish Scout movement.
Among the songs that Katy, who lives off Marylebone High Street, will be performing tonight (Friday) will be Kommander’s Car – a song she wrote about Kazik’s experiences.
The gig starts at 8pm at the Rich Mix, 35-47 Bethnal Green Road, E1. Tickets £8 (£6 in advance). Call the box office on 020 7613 7498.