Dateline Monday 21st October 2024

Yes its true its Monday yet again and here I am writing to you with a cheery good morning, I hope you are well and that you had a great weekend

I am a traditionalist so to the weather, Saturday morning I left home to go to Synagogue, the weather was grey, the skies heavy, I was prepared for rain and it arrived, light at first then very heavy my rain coat gave up the ghost offering little protection by the time I arrived at my destination which only a 20 minute walk. Sunday early morning I walked to Golders Green a 45-minute walk, it rained it stopped, it rained it stopped, got the bus home. At least it wasn’t Hurricane Milton or Oscar, but I guess it was a bit of storm Ashley that buffeted Northern Ireland and Scotland, the first storm of the season so to speak.

Seems like Europe is getting bigger and closer to the border of Russia with Georgia and Moldova both counties wanting to become part of the European Community block, that we, the clever UK left. Why is it that many counties want to join, and we were the only country that wanted to leave. I am sure Prick Putin is not going to be happy with the news that two independent countries want to finally and irrevocably leave his sphere of influence once and for all.

The big news of the week was the demise of a thoroughly evil man, not only was he evil in character but he simply looked evil well, he has gone. He will be joining lots of his despicable evil mates that have gone before him, I hope he is in the place reserved for the souls of those who die in a state of mortal sin, a place of fire, brimstone and darkness experiencing overwhelming suffering, regret, and eternal isolation which he richly deserves, and no, I will not use his name!

Well, well, well here is another Labour politician enjoying the trappings of high office at the cost of us the tax payer, this time it’s Foreign Secretary David Lammy who travelled in style last week, using a Government VIP Airbus A321 for his official visit to China. In contrast, King Charles had to make do with a commercial flight from Heathrow for his trip to Australia. The monarch flew on a scheduled service to link up with Queen Camilla in Singapore before continuing to Australia. Upon reaching Singapore, the royal couple switched to an official Royal Australian Air Force jet for their onward journey to Sydney.

The festival of Sukkot is in full swing, the next two day are intermediate festival days then on Wednesday evening the final two days of the high holy religious days start.

Preparations are well under way in parts of London, and I am sure in other parts of the UK for Diwali, also known as Deepavali, is the Hindu festival of lights, with variations celebrated in other Indian religions. It symbolises the spiritual "victory of light over darkness, good over evil, and knowledge over ignorance. Diwali, is set for October 31, 2024. Celebrated on Amavasya Tithi in Kartik month, it marks Lord Rama's return to Ayodhya. This year, Amavasya extends from October 31 to November 1 

It’s soap box time

Today is ONE YEAR and 21 days that Israeli babies, toddles, children, teens, women, men, seniors and other nationalities have been held hostage in the Hamas terror tunnels in Gaza,

Sadly Beirut and other part of Lebanon are paying the price for hosting an evil empire within its lands, Hezbollah has as I understand it been a thorn in the side of Lebanon for decades. The city of Beirut will be a better place once the tumour called Hezbollah has been removed, it seems that Israel is the elected surgeon.

Off the soap box now

Trump and Harris are still slogging it out only another two weeks to go till the USA Election, if you took 50% of Trump and 50% of Harris the USA might even have a credible candidate.  

And finally the good news, a couple had their first date at Aldi. Then they celebrated their engagement in its aisles, network engineer Charles Phillips and special education instructional assistant Holly Walker announced their engagement in the Aldi Aisle of Shame Facebook group. The post, which mentioned that the couple visited Aldi on their first date, generated over 17,000 likes.

That is about it from a David point of view for this week at least.

 MM and Company news update

NEW YORK

Four Seasons Hotel New York is accepting reservations ahead of its reopening on November 15, 2024. The property has been closed since 2020, initially due to the pandemic but has simultaneously been undergoing renovations. In an area often referred to as Billionaire’s Row, Four Seasons Hotel New York is located between Madison and Park Avenues, just steps from Central Park. Nearby attractions include Rockefeller Plaza, Fifth Avenue shopping and Sixth Avenue corporate offices, museums and galleries.

The hotel’s Les Clefs d’Or concierge team is stationed straight ahead up the steps, and the lobby is flanked by the Ty Bar on the left, and on the right, The Garden restaurant, which will offer a new Italian-inspired menu. The latter will be open for breakfast, lunch and, beginning in 2025, dinner.

The hotel's rooms and suites range from 500 square feet to full-floor specialty suites at 4,300 square feet, with higher floors offering views of Central Park and the Manhattan skyline. Many of the suites have outdoor terraces; one highlight is the Ty Warner Penthouse on the 52nd floor Four Seasons Hotel New York has more than 15,000 square feet of versatile event space can accommodate everything from an elite board meeting to a sit-down reception for up to 270 guests.

IBTM Barcelona 19th – 21st November 2024

It’s never too early to tell you that the following MM and Company represented DMCs have told us that they will be at IBTM :-

Hello Islands DMC Mauritius Stand M24

The J Team DMC Japan

TRAVCO DMC Dubai Abu Dhabi and Oman

Mi Malta DMC team of Doug and Erika will be on the Malta stand B60

The MM and Company DMC news is a bit thin on the ground as the DMCs we are proud to represent are full on delivering outstanding events after all now is the conference season.

 And that is about it, you are now totally up to date, wishing you a terrific week ahead.