A Pebble on the Beach

‘Time Flies’ is a song by The Lol Cooper Band (LCB). The song was put out on you tube on the 1st December 2025. This was the aim of of band leader Lol Cooper, and the writer of the song John Bradshaw. After receiving a book at the now long gone Normanton school in Buxton Derbyshire as an eleven year old in 1975, the song writer put his name in it, and also wrote in the date. The book deals with, and marks time, and as fifty years had seemingly flown past; call it kairos or propitious; the matter of time and its meaningful moments needed to be connected: one day to another. The song idea came to the writer in the seventh year after going to that school and after leaving in 1980, the song came through initially in 1981. The acid test of a song back in those days was to play it live and take a leaf out of the book of the tin pan alley old grey whistle test; if it hit the mark with people on the door because they were taken with it and that it brought an audience in who reacted to it, then the essence of the song probably had something. Back in early 1980’s this was the case with the opener on the LCB album ‘Soul to Sun’ called ‘Minds Eye’ and also with this one ‘Time Flies’.

John Bradshaw and Lol Cooper have taken both of these songs and added the poetry of life experience, improved music, visuals and sound; to the originality, energy, and vitality of those young and enthusiastic years, bringing the autumnal musical mind, into an extant emotional youthful heart; still in conflict with itself and therefore still worth writing about: and so Lol Cooper, with valuable input, as a lead guitarist, sound engineer, and video creator / director became a co-writer of these two numbers. It’s a truly unique, and just as importantly, enjoyable way of bringing a piece of music together, beginning with the gift of a book, the creative idea, and the end delivery by way of the muse, spanning a fifty years; 1st December 1975 to the 1st December 2025.

As a preamble to the song the band put out a poem called ‘Beauty Things’ narrated as the title suggests, beautifully by the band thespian David Meller. The poem was also put out on a specific date, 23rd November 2025 to coincide with the one hundredth anniversary of the publication of the T S Eliot poem ‘The Hollow Men’. We won’t go into that here because there’s post on this web site celebrating ‘The Hollow Men’, and also a news item on The Lol Cooper Band web site. Suffice to say that ‘Beauty Things’ is cliff notes of ‘A Scapeshifter’, as ‘The Hollow Men’ is cliff notes of ‘The Waste Land’.

Back to ‘Time Flies’ but still with the taste of T S Eliot on the tongue. To quote him from ‘Little Gidding’ one of the five parts of his ‘Four Quartets’; “For last years words belong to last years language / And next years words wait another voice” so take the old for what it is, and add in the new to sustain; for the time before was alright for what it was, as this time now may well be alright for what it is, but what of the time to come? Faith? Hope? Or Love? Perhaps all three in one; “three in one and one in three” to quote ‘Minds Eye’. In the song ‘Time Flies’ consideration is given to all time being ever present, in its own time, and accessible by breaking through a moment in a certain state, to look with the ‘Minds Eye’ of Real I; into a distant light of eternity, with a purity of perception which can embrace the mystery. In short; the ‘ The Four Quartets’ of T S Eliot might just be worth reading: but don’t be taken in by chatter; “seldom is it words are strong” (line 404 A Scapeshifter) better yet to go with the sage advice from the man who is the last word of line 42 of ‘A Scapeshifter’ who said; “verify things for yourself.”

Who was the man who said verify things for your self? If you’re interested look up a man who searched for the answers to life questions with a group of people referred to in his book ‘Meetings With Remarkable Men’ as the ‘Seekers of Truth’. In 1922 he opened ‘The Institute for the Harmonious Development of Man’ at ‘Fontainebleau-Avon near Paris in France. T S Eliot had been influenced by Charles Baudelaire who was born and died in Paris and who’s departure from the world was it seems around the time of the seeker of truths arrival in it; add to the mystery. Baudelaire features in the second line of part one of ‘A Scapeshifter’ ‘Call Me Carpenter’.

In summary and without further depth and intrigue; there is a specific thread of learning with three twines making its way through ‘A Scapeshifter as an important component of the poem. One is what C S Lewis called “The Clean Sea Breeze of the Centuries” (line 63 of part 1) which is to read old literature so as to connect with the writing of the past: which in short will protect an individual or group from the ephemeral, and often corrupted assumptions of their time. Another is to point out degradation and involution (as in the Chinese word neijuan) as highlighted by T S Eliot in ‘The Waste Land’. And another is the Systematic Way of living with understanding which is a gem gifted to us from Chateau Le Prieure’ where line 255 of ‘A Scapeshifter’ rejects the calumny of automaton behavior by way of stimulus / response; reactions with little or no awareness of consequence of an action before the damage is done, or recognition of what actually is. The poem ‘A Scapeshifter also covers a time period of 1922 until 2022 to distill the discernment of quality people of the past and to recongise the need for the ‘Harmonious Development of Man’ to mitigate against the withering of ones own civilization, and secondly to prevent real humanity from destroying itself. So as poetry should do, if indeed the poets see it first; there should be a conscious attention paid to people of the past, who in spite of their own flaws, were able to convey something that needs to be passed on and preserved, and as a consequence should be honoured for their super efforts; they are remarkable people in their Way.

As G K Chesterton said in his book ‘The Everlasting Man (1925 same year as ‘The Hollow Men) “Art is the signature of man: and as Lady Elizabeth Butler said three years before in 1922; “I never painted for the glory of war, but to portray its pathos and heroism.”

“When fishes flew and forests walked and figs grew upon he thorn”

We might have our hour; if we don’t waste the time we have been given. At the beginning of the song ‘Time Flies’ there is a line that says “you can’t change and remain the same” and at the end another saying “truth is a heart on fire with love” and in between some metaphorical food for thought; to be digested, then pondered: for the mind may be brought into the heart as transformation takes place, the present can shape the future and the future change the past.