I finished my triple-bill of appointments this morning with a visit to the dentist. Since my last visit, she has, sadly, hired a hygienist, who now performs the cleanings. I’m sure it’s good for her, as the dentist isn’t really supposed to do the regular checkups, but I miss her singing along with “another thirty minutes of continuous soft rock” as I stare at the lily-pads on the ceiling and try to appreciate my situation vis-a-vis, say, medieval dental patients. Nothing wrong with Cuthbert, though, least of all his name. He introduced himself to me as “C.B.,” but I think “Cuthbert” is a pretty great name. Cuthbert Calculus, of course, is my first thought – and it’s a timely one, as the Tintin at Sea exhibition at the National Maritime Museum in London opened yesterday – but there are other famous Cuthberts, including St. Cuthbert, who has a way in England and a girls’ school in New Zealand named for him, among other things.