User talk:Gog the Mild/sandbox6/Archive 1

How to tell what day of the week it is
Can't believe I got the term dates mixed up! It's the head's fault - she gave me a maths planning document which had the wrong dates on it - I've been working from that rather than the official school calendar, I didn't even think to check it myself. I only realised the dates were mixed up on Friday morning - my weekend was a very different shape from what I'd been hoping for! Nevertheless, I've taken a quick look at what's in your sandbox, and I like the structure of it. I'll try to find some time this week, but will definitely have more next week, to see what I can add in from whatever sources we've got at home; should we set up a talk page at your sandbox for discussion? Girth Summit  (blether) 07:46, 18 May 2020 (UTC)


 * That is a bit of a classic! I should have noticed myself as my diary has Gareth and Laura to Derbyshire in it for the 23rd. Don't worry too much about timing - Wikipedia isn't going anywhere and I have been slow myself. I will probably start in the middle and work outwards, dropping near-random bits in as I come across them in sources. This leads to a mess of duplication, gaps and lack of flow which I tidy up towards the end. That work for you? Feel entirely free to amend any of my inputs. I'm hoping to concentrate on the weaponry and tactics over the next few days.
 * I now have Reid and Reese, both of which have that RS aura. (Oddly, the Osprey one more so than Pen & Sword.) Plus Royle's The Civil War, an interesting article by a L A M Stewart, and has kindly sent me the relevant pages from Cassell's Battlefields of Britain and Ireland. Do either you or Laura have access to Wheeler's 1992 "The Logistics of the Cromwellian Conquest of Scotland 1650–1651"? I am not sure if we will need Johnston's Essential Agony: The Battle of Dunbar 1650. This review suggests not - we will have better sources for the deep background it is strong on. Let's see how we go. Gog the Mild (talk) 11:23, 18 May 2020 (UTC)
 * Hi (do you know whether I need to ping you if I'm editing your userspace, or do you get notified anyway?) So, I just had a conversation with Laura about what she reckons the 'Background' section should cover, and I've converted my back-of-an-envelope jottings into what's in the current section. I wanted to get your take on the subjects I'm including before writing it up properly and referencing it - what do you reckon, do we need to go further and explain more about the civil wars? Should the stuff about Leslie's scorched earth tactics and Cromwell's withdrawal go into a 'Prelude' section?
 * With regard to sourcing, that Wheeler source looks good, but the journal is a bit of an odd one and York don't subscribe to it. L thinks that she has his book in her office though - she's not allowed in at the moment, but apparently they're going to arrange a day when they'll be allowed to come in and pick stuff up, so she should be able to get it soon. I'd be interested to see those pages Harrias sent you. From the shelves at home, we have Kenyon and Ohlmeyeer's The Civil Wars - A Military History of England Scotland and Ireland 1638 - 1660, Dow's Cromwellian Scotland, and Woolrych's Britain in Revolution 1625 - 1660, all of which have some useful stuff in them, plus we've got a few slightly more generalised ones. All very academic and dense, I'm feeling slightly daunted, but L has promised to explain any hard words. Girth Summit  (blether)  14:46, 24 May 2020 (UTC)


 * "an immediate threat to Cromwell et al" I'm not sure how much stress we want to put on Cromwell at this point. Sure, with hindsight he was important. Obviously Laura would know best.
 * "Might be worth mentioning somewhere that Cromwell" Absolutely. A paragraph on it towards the end of Background I think.
 * Looking at my (very) rough proposed first paragraph, I think that maybe it could do with further expansion(?)
 * We need a paragraph or two on the political and religious situation in Scotland.
 * We need much the same for England, especially on the fissiparous nature of the parliamentarian coalition.
 * "to purge the army of undesirables in order to create an 'army of the saints'" Background to and detail of needed. Er, I'm repeating myself aren't I? I'll stop.

Gog the Mild (talk) 16:16, 24 May 2020 (UTC)
 * , hi - yes, absolutely - the text I threw up there wasn't intended to be anything like how it will end up, I just wanted to get a feel from you about whether you agreed that these were the right things to cover, what was missing, etc. All of the paragraphs will need expanding and writing properly. I take the point about not necessarily mentioning Cromwell at that point - we can get into that later. Will think about how to cram the political and religious situation in Scotland and England into a few paragraphs! Girth Summit  (blether)  10:53, 25 May 2020 (UTC)


 * At the risk of being even more "grandma and eggs", I wouldn't worry too much about length at this point. Cutting to size later is relatively easy. Gog the Mild (talk) 14:59, 25 May 2020 (UTC)
 * , what think ye to the background? It's rather Scot-centric, because I thought it was important why (from an English perspective) the Scots seem to be flip-flopping over which side they were on, and why the king's arrival there was perceived as a threat; do you think we need more English background? Girth Summit  (blether)  14:00, 26 May 2020 (UTC)
 * I've added some more to the prelude, but I realise I'm now overlapping with your beginning of thee description of the battle, so I'll stop. Would you like me to send you the relevant pages from Woolrych, and perhaps you could decide an appropriate point to make the cut-off from the prelude and the battle and blend them together? I like that quote from Cromwell writing to the governor of Newcastle - you can almost hear his voice. Girth Summit  (blether)  16:11, 26 May 2020 (UTC)