An old tale with new talent

Ann-Christine of the esteemed lens-artist quartet is looking forward to see our interpretation of “Old and New” for their weekly photo challenge. I got an idea of what I wanted to do just after she placed the challenge, but alas due to work and home and (work @ home) taking up my time,  I only get around to it now. Strategically it is never a good thing to respond to a challenge hours before the next one is due to be published but here goes anyway (and by the way Tina regarding the 100th installment – no pressure…).

*The photo in the header I took after noticing this ruin contrasted with the other buildings while cycling. This is a neat area and I wondered why the ruin isn’t demolished. It must have some historic significance, but there are no plaques announcing its existence.*

My daughter’s school performed the musical version of Aladdin just before the strict lockdown. I read up on Aladdin from various sources and realized that Aladdin wasn’t from Agrabah but somewhere in China as that is where the original story originated from. It was introduced to Europe as part of the Arabian nights by French author Antoine Galland in 1704.

Relieved and relaxed – post performance

My daughter’s best friend Mia (who has played in South African produced television programmes and various professional stage musicals in the Artscape theater) was the female lead, Princess Jasmine, and my daughter her chambermaid. They sung “These palace walls” as a duet of which this is an extract:

I know the girl I might become here
Sad and confined
And always locked behind these palace walls
I don’t know princess for someone like you
The outside world might be kinda overwhelming

What princess Jasmine and her chambermaid did not know at the time, is that they would be “locked up” in their own homes with the world becoming “overwhelming” for multiple reasons actually. I could become very serious here but a photo challenge is not the platform for that so I will rather confine myself to this meme inspired by a classic now already old movie with a new application, which certainly made me smile:

In her prime daughter and over the hill father. The new look has aged him.

In a melancholy moment and to my detriment Shakespeare must have written A Madrigal. For their drama class, my daughter had to choose a poem of Shakespeare to perform. This week the eloquently contrasted new and old of youth and age have wrung in my ears as she practices and projects it onto me. Initially she did not want me to use these photos of her but then shrugged with an  “only old people will read it” comment. Having an appreciation for art I have not (yet) decided to set the date on the flux capacitor in the DeLorean time machine to the year before A Madrigal was written in order to in turn wring Shakespeare’s neck…

Crabbed Age and Youth
Cannot live together:
Youth is full of pleasance,
Age is full of care;
Youth like summer morn,
Age like winter weather;
Youth like summer brave,
Age like winter bare:
Youth is full of sports,
Age’s breath is short,
Youth is nimble, Age is lame:
Youth is hot and bold,
Age is weak and cold,
Youth is wild, and Age is tame:-
Age, I do abhor thee;
Youth, I do adore thee;
O! my Love, my Love is young!
Age, I do defy thee-
O sweet shepherd, hie thee,
For methinks thou stay’st too long.

 

And after all of that I feel the need to state that I am now going to attack hills on my mountain bike in a 50 km cycle 🙂