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ADUR VALLEY



 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
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 Word of the Month
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Adur Valley News Bulletin

  Adur Torpedo

This is the first published Electronic Newspaper for 
Shoreham-by-Sea and District, West Sussex, England

January 2000 : Volume 2  Issue 1
Dawn of the New Millennium Issue

A Fish called Janus

 
News

November 1999
The Brighton & Hove Local Plan Draft Pre-Deposit Policies is published. This does not include the Adur valley. 

Despite being a large bulky document, it does not actually contain all that much information. It is a policy document, and contains, in part, a reiteration of long-standing policies.

Extract  (page 107)
"In most cases landscape change is relatively subtle rather than abrupt. ... It is important that even development outside the defined AONB boundary does not adversely affect the character of the AONB."

     
    Wildlife Reports 
     
     
     

    December 1999
    Flashes of yellow on the underside of the wing revealed the identity of the Grey Wagtail that flitted across a garden pond north of the Meads (Overmead), just outside the centre of Shoreham. This bird is an unusual migrant from northern climes, although a few breed in the Adur valley.

    Report by Jenny Byrne



    Encyclopaedic Extract

    Janus

    In Roman religion, the animistic spirit of doorways (januae) and archways (jani). The worship of Janus traditionally dated back to Romulus and a period even before the actual founding of the city of Rome. There were many jani (i.e., ceremonial gateways) in Rome; these were usually freestanding structures that were used for symbolically auspicious entrances or exits.

    Particular superstition was attached to the departure of a Roman army, for which there were lucky and unlucky ways to march through a janus. The most famous janus in Rome was the Janus Geminus, which was actually a shrine of Janus at the north side of the Forum. It was a simple rectangular bronze structure with double doors at each end. Traditionally, the doors of this shrine were left open in time of war and were kept closed when Rome was at peace. According to the Roman historian Livy, the gates were closed only twice in all the long period between Numa Pompilius (7th century BC) and Augustus (1st century BC).

    Some scholars regard Janus as the god of all beginnings and believe that his association with doorways is derivative. He was invoked as the first of any gods in regular liturgies. The beginning of the day, month, and year, both calendrical and agricultural, were sacred to him. The month of January is named for him, and his festival took place on January 9, the Agonium. There were several important temples erected to Janus, and it is assumed that there was also an early cult on the Janiculum, which the ancients took to mean "the city of Janus."

    Janus was represented by a double-faced head, and he was represented in art either with or without a beard. Occasionally he was depicted as four-faced--as the spirit of the four-way arch. 

    Encylopaedia Britannica


    • Words of the Month

    cybernetics  | sLbnetks |  n. M20. [f. Gk kubernetes steersman, f. kubernan to steer: see -ICS.] The science of systems of control and communications in living organisms and machines.cybernetic a. of or pertaining to cybernetics M20. cybernetician  | -nt()n | , cyberneticist  | -sst |  ns. an expert in cybernetics M20.
     

    ---------------------------------------------------------
    Excerpted from The Oxford Interactive Encyclopedia
    Developed by The Learning Company, Inc. Copyright (c) 1997 TLC Properties Inc. All rights reserved.


    Computer Tips

    Using Microsoft Internet Explorer 5 as your Internet browser, there is an option to connect to the Internet using an alternative server (IPS). 
    Procedure using menus:
    Tools - Internet Options - Advanced - Connections 

    Make a note of the Dial-up Settings before installing the software for another EMail server. The new server will probably override the existing settings.
    By following the above menu and going to Settings, you can disable the automatic configuration. You can then assign a new default dial-up settings. 

    Why should you want this option. I can think of 2 reasons. 
    1)  If like Compuserve, the IPS allocate only allows a certain amount of time each month, before charging for the minute. (In normal circumstances, it is probably best to change your IPS).
    2)  If the telephone line to your IPS is engaged and you want an alternative (s) connection to the Internet. 


    Historical Snippets
    At beginning of the Millennium 1000
     

    c. 850
    The first positive evidence of Saxon settlement in this area comes from a Saxon weaving hut at Erringham at the top of the slope on an arable part of the downs near Mill Hill. The date for this is about AD 850.
     

    AD 850. Remains of molluscs showed oysters to be the most important followed by mussels. Ash (aesc) was an important wood for the Saxons, used for the handles of spears (90% of armed men) and swords (10%). Parts of the west wall of the church of St. Nicolas at Old Shoreham have been dated to around this time (AD 850), or earlier.
  • (Historical note:  Alfred the Great reigned as King of England from 877 to 899. At the turn of the Millennium, Ethelred the Unready was King of England (excluding Cumbria) and he spent the whole of his reign fighting off incursions in the north-east of the Danes. By the end of 1013 the Danish king Sweyn I had been accepted as King in England, and Ethelred had fled to Normandy.

    • After Sweyn died in February 1014, Ethelred returned until his death in 1016. Ethelred was succeeded by his son Edmund II Ironside. Sweyn's son King Canute "the Dane" reigned from 1017 to 1035.)
  • c. 965

    • At about AD 965 the shoreline was different from the present. The River Adur was navigable as far upstream as Beeding or Bramber about three miles to the north of Old Shoreham. At the time of the Norman Conquest ships could reach St. Cuthmans (Steyning), a further mile north, which was a thriving port. The first bridge crossing at Bramber erected at the time of  the construction of Bramber Castle (now in ruins) about AD 1086 sometimes prevented navigation further upstream. A timber quay was erected at Bramber about this time (between AD 1010 and 1170).

    Brief History of Shoreham-by-Sea

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