Dick (Richard) Whittington is a legend to most of us, and the story of the man and his cat, has been  the subject of numerous pantomimes and tales for hundreds of years. For the reader who is not familiar with the myth, the story is as follows: Dick Whittington was a poor boy who walked all the way to London, from his home in Gloucestershire, to seek his fortune. He began work in the house of a rich merchant and soon fell in love with his employer’s daughter, Alice. Dick’s bedroom was in the attic but it was plagued by many mice, so Dick decided to get a cat to deal with the problem, but, when his boss gave the servants a chance to invest in a sailing venture, Dick sold the cat to raise money.

Later Dick decided to leave London and go home to Gloucestershire because he couldn’t see any future for himself in London. He got as far as the top of Highgate Hill and stopped because he heard the bells of London ringing – they seemed to be saying: ‘Turn again, Whittington, three times Lord Mayor of London’.

Because Dick thought this was a good omen, he returned to the Fitzwarren household and learnt that the ship he had invested in had returned with very good news. The boat had arrived in a foreign land only to find the king’s court was overrun by rats. Dick’s cat drove out all the rats and the grateful king paid a very large sum of gold to buy the cat.  Now a very wealthy man, Dick married Alice and later became Lord Mayor of London.

But, even the people who are familar with the story of Dick Whittington and the cat that made his fortune, don’t realise that Richard Whittington was very “real” in his day and was a friend of princes and poor people alike.

He was a Gloucestshire boy, born in the 1350′s, and may well have been inspired by the sound of Bow Bells and may even have had a cat – for two 16th century portraits of him depict the cat. He didn’t find the streets of London paved with gold but he did eventually became a ‘mercer’ and provided fine and valuable cloth to the Royal Court. He became a very rich man and it is said that when the King and Queene Catherine came to dine with him in Hart Street, Whittington burned a bond by which Henry IV was to pay him back £60,000.

In 1397 the King chose Whittington to become the new mayor. He was re-elected the following year, and again for 1406-7 and 1419-20. This made Richard Whittington, the Mayor of London four times.

He used his great wealth to build almshouses for the old and gave London a drinking fountain long before any other city had one. In his will he left valuable land to the city and disadvantaged Londoners still benefit through the Whittington Charity.

Whittington died in March 1423 and was buried in St. Michael Paternoster Royal in London. His wife Alice, daughter of Sir Ivo Fitzwaryn, died before him.

England has long been a destination for both straight and gay travel, but when it comes to choosing a location for a gay vacation, England is about as welcoming and inviting as they come. An active, visible LGBT community, abundant gay events and establishments, and gay rights that far outshine what has been granted in the United States, England is an ideal setting for gay vacations. With the lively London nightlife, beautiful Brighton beaches and the picturesque countryside that gives way to sprawling urban skylines, England has much to offer for any kind of gay travel tourist.

Old Compton Street and the Soho district of London is the center of gay and lesbian life and is a must-see for any gay or lesbian traveler on a gay vacation to England. With a multitude of gay bars, businesses, restaurants and clubs, Soho has the most active, visible gay community in England. Soho is also centrally located near many of London’s landmarks and world-famous neighborhoods, such as Chelsea, Kensington, Piccadilly Circus, Leicester Square and Covent Garden. Plus, thanks to an expansive public transportation system, all of London’s offerings are easily accessible from this gay neighborhood. For travelers heading north, Manchester has another large gay and lesbian community, including a gay village around Canal Street that offers numerous gay bars, pubs and clubs.

For a gay vacation on the seashore, gay men and lesbians should head south to Brighton, often called Soho by the Sea, to stroll through quaint pathways in search of extraordinary shops and boutiques, or along the pier and pebble beach. Home to the second largest gay and lesbian community, Brighton is a popular gay vacation destination where gay and lesbian travelers enjoy relaxing at cafés, dining, or going out on the town in Kempton, Brighton’s center for gay life. Another gay vacation option in England is Newcastle Gateshead, which is home to a fashionable gay village with gay pubs, cafés, clubs and bars.

Gay travelers will find gay-owned and gay-friendly accommodations in all of England’s regions, including establishments that exclusively serve the gay travel community or specifically gay men. Gay and lesbian travelers who choose to work with a travel agency well-versed in planning gay vacations in England will benefit from working with a travel agent who can suggest the gay-friendly or gay-owned hotel, bed and breakfast or other lodgings option that will best meet your needs. If camping is on the agenda for your England gay vacation, gay-owned and gay-friendly campgrounds are available, including Out in the Open, a gay-owned campsite in Cornwall, and Brighthouse Farm, offering a six-acre campground, bed and breakfast and self-catering lodgings in Suffolk.

Italy is a land of art, history, architecture, romance and Vespas. Italy’s exceptional scenery, rich history and deeply entrenched culture have made this enticing country a popular destination for both straight and gay holidays, as well as a popular setting for books, movies and plays. Singles, couples, families and groups of friends flock to Italy throughout the year for the fashion, the food and some of the most famous art and architecture in the world. Whether your ideal gay vacation includes meandering narrow, ancient roads in Rome or Venice, languid drives through the countryside searching for lesser known historical sites and visiting wineries, wiling away an afternoon in a museum in Florence or experiencing Milan’s enticing nightlife, Italy is an ideal destination for gay vacations.

While Rome and Milan have the widest selection of LGBT bars and clubs, gay travel participants will find that Geneva, Florence, Bologna, Venice, Padua and many other tourist hotspots also have gay-owned and LGBT-friendly establishments offering a welcoming atmosphere for a night on the town during your gay vacation to Italy. LGBT-owned and LGBT-friendly hotels can be found throughout Italy, such as the Hotel Porta Rossa – which is the second oldest hotel in Italy and just a short walk from numerous world-famous attractions, such as Michelangelo’s David in the Galleria dell’Accademia – or the LGBT-owned La Quircia Rosa and Villa le Masse in Tuscany.

There is a large LGBT presence in each of Italy’s larger urban areas providing many options for your gay tours to Italy, particularly Rome, Florence, Bologna and Milan, with Milan being generally accepted as the most gay-friendly Italian City and among the most popular destinations for gay vacations. Gay pride events take place throughout the country and there are a few large gay and lesbian film festivals, including the Turin International Gay and Lesbian Film Festival, the Festival del Cinema Gay Lesbico e della Cultura Queer in Milan and the Florence Queer Festival.

If one of the goals of your gay holiday to Italy is to experience as much of the history, art and culture as possible during your stay, tours are an absolute necessity. Participating in organized gay vacations or working with a travel agency to schedule tours for your private travel group will help you make the most out of your time in Italy.

Whether you go to Italy for the food, the art, the wine, the history or the legends, there is bound to be a tour related to your interests and this really is the best way to take in all that Italy has to offer. Another tip for utilizing your time in Italy well is to book museum reservations ahead of time whenever possible. Italy is well-known for its remarkable museums and this will save you from standing in some very long lines.

Planning gay vacations with the help of a travel agency that provides professional gay travel planning services will help to ensure that your gay vacation to England or Italy is a memorable, fun-filled experience.

True sporting legends are usually made, not born. A few greats have been destined for fame since birth though. Bob Champion is one of these natural-born legends, but his courage and dedication are the qualities for which he is most admired.
Champion, born in Yorkshire, England in 1948, was surrounded by riders and hunters from the very beginning. His father was an avid huntsman who took young Bob riding frequently. These early experiences instilled in him the love of horses and riding that would eventually carry him to a Grand National championship.
At only 15 years old, Bob Champion won his first horse race. After his initial taste of victory, he continued to race on the National Hunt circuit. His special way with the horses continued to win him races, as well as respect. He also proved to have a special way with women. His tempestuous love affairs were well-known and sometimes amusing to those around him.
Champion tried his luck racing in America and continued to enjoy success. His career eventually took him back to Britain, where he had dreams of winning the Grand National. He raced in the Grand National eight times after returning to Britain, always keeping his eyes on the big prize. However, his career and life took a major detour on the way to fulfilling his dreams.
In 1979, Bob Champion was diagnosed with testicular cancer. In true Champion fashion, Bob refused to believe that his doctors were correct. He stubbornly insisted that there was a mistake in the diagnosis.
The diagnosis wasn’t wrong. Doctors gave Champion a maximum of eight months to live, with only a 40 percent chance of survival. Things looked grim, but he was given a second chance. An extremely aggressive program of chemotherapy, if begun immediately, might just beat the odds. Champion agreed to begin the treatment the very same day.
Most people who have been diagnosed with cancer and told that they will most likely die within months would take some time away from work. Not Bob Champion. He returned to training and racing while still in treatment and set his sights on winning the 1980 Grand National.
Unfortunately, Champion’s treatment had not been easy on his body. A large-scale infection nearly claimed his life and he was forced to put off his Grand National ambitions temporarily.
Champion was soon recovering from his various hardships and back in training. In 1981, he rode Aldaniti in the Grand National. The two were a perfect pair: both hard-working, stubborn and recovering from serious health problems. Champion’s cancer and Aldaniti’s three leg injuries caused almost everyone to speculate that the team wouldn’t get near the winner’s circle.
The two survivors melded on the Aintree Racecourse that April day in 1981. Their victory is one of the most memorable and emotional moments ever to be recorded in horse racing. Coming in four-and-a-half lengths ahead of the competition, Champion and Aldaniti beat the odds and made history.
After his Grand National championship, Bob Champion continued to race and win until 1983. By that time, he had approximately 500 wins to his credit. After leaving racing, he focused his energy on training horses and running the Bob Champion Cancer Trust. The charity has raised millions of pounds for cancer research and Champion continues to raise funds for it to this day.
Although Aldaniti died in 1997 and Bob Champion retired from training horses in 1999, they are both legends of the horse racing world. Their legacy is a sense of hope for all those who follow in their paths. They taught us that, even when things look desperate, success is just over the next fence for those who choose to make the jump.

Few popular musicians have inspired the kind of long-lasting devotion and admiration as Jamaica-born singer, musician and songwriter Bob Marley. From his formative years spent in spirit-breaking poverty to his later worldwide success as leader of the influential 1960s and 70s reggae band The Wailers, Marley’s life has become the stuff of legend. Crossing over into mainstream success, his hits “I Shot The Sheriff,” “Stir It Up,” and especially his autobiographical anthem “No Woman No Cry” have become among the most revered rock and roll songs of all time.

Marley ranks among its most beloved images of youth and regeneration alike. His image has become synonymous both with spirituality and freedom, becoming an icon of “cool” appearing on everything from posters to murals to handmade jewelry.

Early Life

Robert Nesta Marley was born in the Jamaican village of Nine Mile in 1945, the son of a Caucasian ex-soldier and plantation manager and an Afro-Jamaican woman. But his father died when Marley was ten, and he and his mother struggled with racism and disdain because of his mixed-race heritage. He left school at the age of fourteen to focus on his musical career, playing with Joe Higgs and Bunny Livingston (later Bunny Wailer) and recording his first two singles just three years later.

Beginnings of his musical career

In 1963 Marley, Livingston, Peter Tosh, and others formed a rocksteady and ska band. Originally known as “The Teenagers,” the young band underwent several name changes before settling on “The Wailers” when signing with producer Coxsone Dodd. By 1966 the group had dwindled to Marley, Livingston, and Tosh. Marley married Rita Anderson that same year, and the young couple relocated to his mother’s residence near Wilmington, Delaware. For a time Marley worked in the States under the alias Donald Marley, at a variety of jobs including lab assistant and assembly line worker at a Chrysler Motors factory. Upon his return to Jamaica he joined the Rastafarian religious movement, growing the dreadlocks that in time he would popularize the world over.

Commercial Success

The reunited Wailers released their debut album Catch A Fire in 1973 but broke up just a year later. British guitarist Eric Clapton enjoyed a worldwide hit with his cover of “I Shot The Sheriff,” giving the band international attention and allowing Marley to continue recording. Marley continued touring with a band of his own as “Bob Marley & The Wailers. In 1975 the new band had a massive hit single with “No Woman, No Cry,” based in part on Marley’s childhood experiences in the Kingston, Jamaica ghetto of Trenchtown. In 1976 Marley recorded the Exodus album in England, where it stayed on the British hit album charts for more than a year. Subsequent albums, including Babylon By Bus and Survival heightened the group’s popularity.

Illness and death

Marley was diagnosed with a form of malignant melanoma in 1977. He refused amputation in accordance with the Rastafarian belief against removing parts of the body. Unfortunately, the cancer soon spread to the rest of his body In 1980 Marley performed his final concert, in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Finally hospitalized in Miami, he died the following May. His last album, Confrontation, was released two years later.

Legacy and Stature

Marley’s reputation, both as a peacemaker and spiritual teacher, has only grown after his death, and his efforts to bring peace to the warring political factions that plagued Jamaica during his lifetime are viewed today as shining examples of public activism. Marley was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1994. Time magazine voted the Exodus album the greatest album of the 20th Century. He was also awarded the distinguished Jamaican Order of Merit citation.