In Britain there are many kinds of potato; many have strange names: Pentland Javelin (spear), Red Desiree (desired), Maris Piper (musician), King Edward. Sadly there is no King George.
Did you know that potatoes are good for you? They are full of vitamin C. Most of their goodness is in and just under their skin, so it is best to eat the potato, skin and all. Which reminds me of a sad but true story from my university days. . .
When I was a first-year student at university, I had a landlady. She was about sixty, Scottish and very mean with money. We shared a kitchen. One evening I decided to eat a jacket potato for my supper. A jacket potato is a potato that still has its skin on. I turned on the oven, washed one large potato, dried it, put several small holes in its skin, and put it in the oven.
One hour later the potato was cooked. I cut it open, and put butter and cheese into its hot white middle. They melted. I added salt and pepper, and began to eat. At this moment my landlady walked into the kitchen.
'It's very hot in here.'
'Is it?' The landlady looked at me, then at the oven, then at me again.
'Have you been using the oven?'
'Yes, I have.'
'What did you cook?'
'A potato.'
She looked at me with a strange expression on her face.
'You turned on the oven to cook only one potato, and nothing else?'
'That's right.'
'Are you crazy? How long did you have the oven on for?'
'Oh, about an hour.'
My landlady asked me to leave shortly afterwards. As I closed the door to her kitchen for the last time, I heard her scream 'And never come back!', then slightly quieter 'One jacket potato!' She was obviously not a potato fan.