Blog by Rich

I took a jog part way up Arthur's Seat, where the scene in Chariots of Fire is filmed: "God made me for a purpose: for China. But He also made me fast. And when I run I feel his pleasure." At the last performance we had an opera singer who attended the show that said the film, and in parti...
08.28.07 10:27 AM - Comment(s)

We were able to take a tour of the Queen's official residence in Scotland, because she's at Balmorral, only a few miles from the farm house where we stayed for our St. Andrews get-away.

Holyrood means holy cross. The palace got its name because the chapel held a relic, which was said to be part of t...

08.28.07 09:55 AM - Comment(s)

This oldest building in Ediburgh sits at the pinnacle of The Castle.
08.28.07 09:18 AM - Comment(s)
The journalist who put us in The Daily Telegraph swung comp tickets into The Castle.
08.28.07 09:08 AM - Comment(s)
This statue of Eric Liddell is on The University of Edinburgh campus, not far from a display that names him Scotland's most famous athlete.
08.28.07 09:05 AM - Comment(s)
The day after we closed, an article ran in The Daily Telegraph: Chariots of Fire, the sequel, off the blocks. It led the Spy column, trumping Paris Hilton and Kelly Osbourne.
08.28.07 05:43 AM - Comment(s)
Theses are Eric Liddell's three Olympic medals: gold for the 400m, bronze for the 200m in which he was within a second of both Jackson Scholz and Charles Paddock, and a medal for participation. His daughter, Patricia, donated them to The University of Edinburgh.
08.27.07 01:17 PM - Comment(s)
One of the huge obstacles in bringing Beyond the Chariots to the Fringe was housing. The city of Edinburgh swells to up to six times its normal population as the Fringe, International Festival, Book Festival and Film Festival all take place simultaneously. Our friend Chuck put us in touch with Brian...
08.27.07 06:14 AM - Comment(s)
After the show today we had lunch with a couple of attendees originally from Zimbabwe. They moved to Scotland because conditions there are getting worse, quite literally, on a daily basis. Strong companies give raises twice a month to keep up with inflation.

We have what sounds to be a favorable ...
08.25.07 07:53 PM - Comment(s)
I was shocked to see the Andersons at yesterday's show. Jim was a conductor at the Salvation Army's Territorial Music Institute in Oklahoma, where I taught drama last month. I knew he and his wife had grown up in Edinburgh, but they told me they wouldn't be here during the Fringe. Their plans chan...
08.25.07 06:50 AM - Comment(s)
Rich Swingle marvelously intertwines history, culture, and religion through a host of characters with the main character's persona (Eric Liddell) exhibiting a cruciform way of life; true to life that even his still living daughters (i.e. Patricia, Heather and Maureen) would gladly attest to as they ...
08.24.07 05:06 PM - Comment(s)
The Herald confirmed through Liddell's eldest that he did, in fact forfeit his opportunity to leave the internment camp. He gave his place to a pregnant woman: The inspirational story of an athletics legend is still being written.
08.23.07 03:08 PM - Comment(s)
Rich Swingle is amazing in his capacity to communicate, involve and enthrall in his presentation of the life of Eric Liddell. The story has been diligently researched and brilliantly put together as a one-man play of diverse characters from a variety of ethnicities. It is exciting, dynamic, touching...
08.21.07 05:08 PM - Comment(s)

This 400 year old golf course in St. Andrews was where the British athletes stayed before setting sail for the Paris Olympics in Chariots of Fire. We had a cream tea here after hurdling these white fences and running on the beach.

A woman who saw me running told us that her dorm-mate in universit...
08.21.07 02:37 PM - Comment(s)

When Eric Liddell left Waverly Station for China there were so many people cheering that he couldn't make himself heard. So he led them in a hymn.

Tomorrow's my only day off at the Fringe, so we're spending it in St. Andrews.

08.20.07 06:07 PM - Comment(s)
During the school year, this is the dining room for the student union building for Edinburgh University. Since Eric Liddell lived less than 100m away while he was a student here, chances are quite good that he ate some meals here. For the Fringe they've adapted it into one of the best theatres we'...
08.20.07 06:00 PM - Comment(s)

We tried to perform Beyond the Chariots at the church where Eric Liddell taught Sunday school, but The Gilded Balloon, which we secured hours before our deadline as a last resort, turns out to be one of the best venues of the Fringe! There are almost 100 shows on, and there's the Liddell link that h...
08.20.07 05:52 PM - Comment(s)
While the genre of one-man plays still needs to be explored by the general public at large, Rich Swingle's Beyond the Chariots does it more than justice by presenting not only an outstanding script and oustanding acting talents; it leaves you nourished and inspired with the story of this incredible ...
08.20.07 05:14 PM - Comment(s)

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