About Cakes and Pies

 Dost thou think, because thou art virtuous,

there shall be no more cakes and ale?

 

Twelfth night, perhaps one of the more underrated of all, where Shakespeare is concerned, mentions cake. It seems to stand here as a symbol of the good-life. Underrated if you love Shakespeare that is. I’m pretty sure Shakespeare wouldn’t expect everyone to love it and especially not without an update or two, a remake, a reworking, a new point of view.

Cake, in Twelfth Night, seems to be a sign of Virtue versus decadence, decency versus temptation, self -control against the hilarity of letting go and being just a little bit silly. Cakes are a bit silly in a way because they taste so good but aren’t all that good for the body in massive doses. I mean it’s rather like a sugar sandwich in a way and yet I think Shakespeare liked cakes but not as much as posset. Too much of anything is never a good thing they say. Ah, sometimes quotes, sayings, cliché’s aren’t really my thang. Too much love is not possible. I still think love is boundless. Did Shakespeare though? 

 

“My bounty is as boundless as the sea,
My love as deep; the more I give to thee,
The more I have, for both are infinite.”

Romeo and Juliet. 

Were they all too in love to see reason? Were they too naïve? Was Desdemona a fool to not see herself headed for doom? Oh god no. Do you think a man who was one of the first to place women in pivotal roles, would be a victim blamer? I really don’t think so. It is my belief that in all of Shakespeare’s work he was merely trying to demonstrate how love can be thwarted by others, by corrupt systems, by bigotry, by mastermind manipulators. Iago thought of Desdemona as naïve. Is it naïve to fight for love, to suggest love, keep trying for love, willing love into the universe ? No, it’s brave. Was Othello weak or naïve for losing his way, becoming corrupted. For me, Shakespeare meant to say that Othello was beauty and truth, success and honor even against the landscape of bigotry that existed in Verona, until one of the worst of all, Iago, came to break down everyone’s sense of hope, love, self -belief and goodwill. In Othello, It was jealousy and bitterness and a greedy system that lead way to the destruction of people’s minds and relationships. 

Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that. Martin Luther King, Jr.

Twelfth night is a play by a man who wasn’t afraid to delve into the world of gender ambiguity. Was he joking? Not in the sense of bigotry no. Was it a comedy of errors that Viola and Olivia should fall in love or Antonio should have a passionate devotion to Sebastian. I think Shakespeare was dabbling in mirth and serious questions of gender and sexuality. People are just funny sometimes in all their nuances and strange habits. Straight people are, gay people are, bisexual people are. Shakespeare reflected the times but probably also reflected a lot of his own wonderings. Was it funny to him that they fell in love? It was funny simply because the world was so willing to dismiss the differences and similar quirks that hold people together. Sometimes behind the comedy is a message. Sometimes people do genuinely laugh at one another in all the wrong ways. It’s hard to get comedy right. It’s hard to get happiness right. It’s hard indeed and most of all to get love right. 

I can live without money, but I cannot live without love. Judy Garland

Back to the topic of cake. I’ve got distracted but that’s a big part of Shakespeare isn’t it? People get distracted away from what it was the really want or who they really are and sometimes in the mean time they also discover some new aspects about themselves and others. Ah, yes, cake. I’ve always made cakes. When I was a little girl I used to press my nose against the glass and look at the cakes in a bakery in Engadine. Sydney NSW. I may have written about this before. Oh well. The same stories get recycled. Ask Shakespeare. He sure as hell would know about that. Engadine Cake Shop was all about deciding which cake I might have if I was allowed to have cake. I used to like to dress as Little Red Riding Hood too and deliver my all -time specialty, carrot cake to different people in our street. I remember cakes being made for me and making cakes for people I loved. Making a cake can be really daunting and especially now because who wants a Pinterest fail? It’s so easy to see now why you’re not good enough at making cakes anymore because the internet gives you a taste of the very worst and the very best. People should still make them sometimes even so if they like to. 

I used to like cakes from a place in Smith Street called Gluttony. It’s a place you go to sometimes to be a bit naughty I guess and eat… cake. 

The cakes were a bit of an irregular shape sometimes, stuff oozing out at the sides, bit home grown. 

My cakes are a bit yeah, home grown, sometimes a bit of a mess. I’m still working on them from time to time, like the one in this picture which is called the Mary May Butterfly Cake. It’s a work in progress. It’s hard to feel like a legend, to be the best or to want to keep trying at something when it seems like a waste of time and that goes for  for anyone anywhere; 

If I am a legend, then why am I so lonely? Judy Garland

 

I also really really love pies, any type of pies. It’s like a cake but you always get pastry and you Always know you’re going to get it, just like love should be. Is it ok to have apple Pie every night in moderation? As long as you serve it with a big bit of love, yeah I think so. Should you force some-one to love Apricot pie if they love apple pie more? Not exactly no. Should you ask them to appreciate it and maybe come to love it more. Perhaps that’s not such a bad idea. Or you could find a new flavor that everyone likes. It’s just about working it out without the pie disappearing for good I guess. 

I am good, but not an angel. I do sin, but I am not the devil. I am just a small girl in a big world trying to find someone to love. Marilyn Monroe

I think most of us are just like that even though we lose or way or hide the truth...

Truth is like the sun. You can shut it out for a time, but it ain't goin' away. Elvis Presley

 

We may have all come on different ships, but we're in the same boat now. Martin Luther King, Jr.

Stay with love. It’s all you really have. If you win or of you lose just keep on loving. Sounds corny. Oh well. It’s corny, who gives a crap if it’s corny, corn is delicious. 

 

Someone recently told me Joan of Arc was a bit of a boring saint. It’s funny how that came up, the band and the song about how Joan might have felt and all that. Sometimes kids in bands can look back at themselves and think ok I feel like a knob remembering somethings I did and other stuff I’m glad I did. That’s what being a kid is about and an adult for that matter. I never really meant to be one religion or another. As far as the Catholics went well Joan was pretty kick ass but she wouldn’t necessarily think so. Like I said, being a legend is a bit daunting but I love that Aussie culture embraced the idea of calling people a “Bloody Legend”.  Yeah it’s a possibility for us all. Joan, she challenged gender, she fought for love, she meant it. As long as you mean it, you want it and you’ll fight for it, you have something worth planning for that gives back as much as it gives, in one way or another even if doesn’t seem so, somewhere and somehow.