The Pot of Basil: a rant.

 If you want to make something classy, well, then you attach a classy label to it.

The supermarket Tesco has introduced a new kind of basil. It's sold planted in pots, and it's part of their highest-quality FINEST range.

They've called it Isabella.

Now, that's really posh, because of course Isabella, or the Pot of Basil is the title of a narrative poem by Keats (who stole the story from Boccaccio).

Personally, though, I think the stuff would sell better if someone at Tesco had got round to reading either Keats or Boccaccio before they named it.

Word To Use Today: basil. This word comes from the Old French basile, and originally from the Greek basileus, king. There are various unconvincing stories connecting the plant with kings - Alexander the Great is said to have brought it from India to Europe, and some people have said that it should only be picked by a king with a golden sickle. Basil also has the quality of being quite harmless and occasionally helpful when used as a medicine, which at one time might have made it seem a king of healing.

As for Isabella...

In her story, Isabella's brothers kill her lover Lorenzo, and she promptly goes bonkers and plants his severed head in a pot of basil seed, where it sprouts in the most ghastly way.

Can't say I fancy eating any basil called Isabella, myself.