DATELINE MONDAY 17TH JULY 2017

Happy Monday every one, I hope you are all fit and well and enjoying the summer. Last week was, well sort of OK although not once did I wear shorts, just not quite hot enough for the Marks legs to make an appearance. They only go on show when it is really hot and it wasn’t hot last week, in fact it was hardly summer.

A few months ago I arranged to entertain some clients in the Midlands, the date chosen was Tuesday 11th July the day of torrential rain of epic proportions. I drove 100 miles up to Stratford upon Avon in the pouring rain then drove back in the pouring rain, however it was lovely to see these clients and well worth the drive. The side benefit of the rain was it cleaned my car and it really did need a clean. Sure it would have been much nicer to drive in the warm sunshine but hey.

DMC News* MM and Company News * Destination News*

Japan Geraint, James and the crew at The J Team DMC Japan has told us that Japan will have two bank holidays one this Monday 17th July it is called Marine Day, so of course I googled it. Marine Day, also known as Ocean Day, Sea Day or 'Umi no hi' only became a nationally recognized holiday in Japan in 1996. Since 2003, it has been celebrated on the third Monday in July. Marine Memorial Day was established in 1941 to mark the anniversary of the 1876 return of the Meiji Emperor to the Port of Yokohama, on the two-masted topsail schooner Meiji-Maru, from a tour of the Tohoku and Hokkaido regions. The day was also established as a holiday to express gratitude for the gifts of the sea, honour its importance, and pray for the prosperity of Japan as a maritime nation. Marine Day is the symbolic start of school summer holidays

There is also a Bank Holiday on Friday 11th August called Mountain Day. Google tells me that Mountain Day is a brand new bank holiday in Japan started last year an extra day off - Japan now has 16 public holidays a year The campaign to have a Mountain Day was a longstanding cause for hiking and mountain-related groups, who wanted to celebrate Japan's terrain and its connection to the nation's geography and culture. Japan also likes to have something specific to celebrate on each public holiday so Mountains it is

As ever James and Geraint will be available to our UK clients on these bank holiday

Leyla and Hannah’s twitter and witter bit of the Monday morning e mail

We met Leyla at Heathrow Airport on Monday evening when her school class returned from their three week trip to Israel. All 90 kids and their teachers came into the arrivals halls as a group no one was allowed to leave they all had to wait till everyone had got their luggage. Leyla of course was in the front leading everyone out into the arms of their loved ones. Leyla saw us and burst into tears (she loves a drama takes after a number of my relatives). So we left her at school crying three weeks ago not wanting to go non the trip she arrived after having an amazing time crying not want to leave all her friends. I took some terrific photos of Leyla and Hannah hugging each other. It won’t last 😊

Hannah is not a happy girl, Leyla has broken up from school, Hannah still has two weeks to go. We signed Hannah up for a cycling proficiency course taking place in her vast school grounds she is not happy yet again. She is the only person from her class attending the course the thing she is MOST unhappy about is the fact that her class mates will see her in a helmet and a hi viz vest, “Daddy I will look totally and utterly ridiculous and all my friends will laugh at me” I guess she is not wrong on that, but better for her to learn how to ride safely on the road. I have taken both girls out on their bike on a Sunday riding on the road my stress levels went through the roof.

That’s it you are totally up to date. I hope you have a great week.

If you are going on holiday I wish you an amazing time away, if you have just got back I hope you had fun.