My work in telecommunications, computing and security is fortunately something I enjoy, in general.  This WEB site is an enjoyable exercise for me, while being a learning experience.

I have been a member of the National Trust for more than half my life and find the history, particularly since the industrial revolution fascinating.  Thomas Hardy expresses well the change in society and the effect on the countryside.  Steam power on the railways brought about universal time and travel. J B Priestley wrote in 1933 of his "English Journey" (Heinemann) from Southampton to the Tyne - "As I thought of what the nineteenth century has left us in every industrial area, I felt at once angry and ashamed."

A good "flavour" of Cornwall (where the Sleeman family is well represented) is given by one of our British Poet Laureates in "Betjeman's Cornwall" (Murray ISBN 0 7195 41006 9). John Betjeman fell in love with Cornwall during his childhood holidays - "there was only one motor-car in the parish and this could not attempt the steeper hills. Everyone in the village had oil lamps and candles. There were still many country people who had never been to London."  

Dennis Potter wrote of "the changing Forest" (-of Dean), where my father grew up (see genealogy page), Frank Whittle (who lived in my home town Coventry) invented in the 1930s the jet engine that has made international travel so easy.  The first trans Atlantic radio signal was transmitted from Poldhu in Cornwall in 1901.  In 1912 the Titanic sank with the loss of many Europeans seeking life in the new world (were there any Sleemans on board?). A survivor, Lawrence Beesley wrote "In the midst of our thankfulness for deliverance, one name was mentioned with the deepest feeling of gratitude: that of Marconi".  The work of Gugliemo Marconi resulted radio and television, perhaps the most significant changes to the world so far - offering us all a World journey.  Alan Turing pioneered computer logic and fathered the world of data encryption that has kept me busy for the last ten years.   What will the cyber traveller of the 2033 think of the heritage we leave?

I discovered the joys of music in the 60's with the Beetles, Six-Five Special and Top of the Pops,  I have very wide tastes, but collect David Bowie, Iggy Pop, Elvis Costello, Pink Floyd, Sting and even Madonna!  At secondary school I was introduced to the choral work of Benjamin Britten (War Requiem in Coventry Cathedral 1962) and to his opera Noyes Fludde.  I have collected much of his work on record and find his life story, including the war years with Auden in the US an interesting commentary on changing attitudes.  Stravinsky too is a favourite, particularly his minimal "Soldiers Tale" that explores change in society - "You must not seek to add to what you have, what you once had. You have no right to share who you are with who you were". Incidentally Sting "plays" the Soldier on the Pangaea recording of 1988 (PEA 461048 2). I enjoy Stravinsky's great ballet works with Diaghilev. The uproar at the first performance of "Rite of Spring" in 1913 seems strange in today's "anything goes" world.    I've also enjoyed Contemporary Dance at Saddlers Wells in London, where Britten's Peter Grimes was first performed in 1945 - a turning point for opera. A strong school memory is of a Madrigal singing tour of Cornwall organised by a young teacher, David Scholar (you never forget a good teacher!). One result was that a Sleeman was back in Cornwall (see genealogy). 

School was adjacent to the steam railway line from Coventry to Nuneaton.  Annual visits to Porlock via Minehead involved a long train journey. It is a pleasure to see the West Somerset Railway offering the experience to today's tourists.  The Great Western Railway (God's Wonderful Railway) leads me to another important part of life, my many Christian friends and the opportunity to worship in the beautiful building St Mary Magdalene, Addiscombe - a community that has seen so much change in the 120 years since a Jewish Christian built St Mary's. I met my wife, Avril at a Christian House-party in my first year at university and we have that fundamental point in common.

During my teens I was a Crusader and attended Christian holidays at Malvern and on the Norfolk Broads.  They were life building and I thank many dedicated men & women who gave up their free time to pass on their faith to a new generation.  You'll find a strong Sleeman involvement in the Baptist Chapel on Ruardeen Hill, where my Sleeman Grand Parents are buried.

Thanks for bothering to read this far - you can EMail me at bob.sleeman@lineone.net.