I mentioned in a previous post that on our last day in Brussels, the end of the tube of my left hearing aid snapped off. It was lucky that it didn’t break inside my ear. Since then, I have been unbalanced aurally, hearing well with my right ear and not so well with the left.

To have the tube replaced I need to visit the Audiology Department of the Whittington Hospital and as yesterday was a bank holiday, today is my first opportunity.

Accordingly, I take the tube from Angel to Archway and walk from there to the hospital.

Archway is named after the bridge that carries Hornsey Lane (now a major road rather than a lane) over Archway Road, or rather, it was named after the original brick-built bridge of 1813 which this cast-iron bridge replaced in 1900.

My path lies through a housing estate. As the day heats up, I am walking in the shade wherever possible.

I have photographed the hospital from this awkward angle in the hope the it allows you to see the cat on the roof of the lowest building. (Look in the centre if the photo.)

The cat is the symbol of the hospital, itself named after Dick Whittington, sometime Mayor of London, who, according to legend, had a clever cat as companion.

At the hospital, I usually walk up the 66-step staircase to the Audiology Department on the 4th floor but today, with the heat (the hospital has no air conditioning) I am taking the lift.

I was expecting a long wait but in fact I was seen to after only a short wait. Both tubes have been replaced and I have been given a fresh supply of batteries.

Shall I say it again? Yes, I will: What a wonderful institution is the NHS!

For the journey home, I have chosen to take the bus. The number 4 stops opposite the hospital and goes to the Angel. It takes it takes longer but avoids the walk in the sun.

I have a front seat upstairs, the one all we small boys like so we can pretend to drive!

Having threaded a path through the suburbs, the number 4 deposited me at Angel tube station where I started out. I reached home to find a pot of tea waiting for me. Tigger knows me so well!

I have created a page entitled Etymology of Place Names to which I will add the more interesting etymologies of the places we visit, both in the UK and abroad. At this writing, the page contains only two names (Islington and Angel) but I hope to add to it as time goes by.

As stated in the Preface to the page, I do not claim any originality for the etymologies. I will distill each entry from whatever information I can obtain from books and from online sites.

Each entry will be fairly short (“succinct” might be a good word to use!) and if they encourage the reader to research the names and places further, then that will be a pleasing outcome.