Dateline Monday 13th April 2026

Happy sunshiny SPRING Monday morning I hope you are fit and well and that you had a terrific weekend. First let’s discuss the weather, in the sunshine yummm very nice, when the sun is behind the clouds and the wind is blowing, we are back into serious winter temperatures, we still have another month to go. There is an old English and Scottish proverb “Ne’er cast a clout till May be oot” it  is an advising not to remove your winter clothing until the end of May or until the hawthorn blossoms appear. I totally agree with that. The sunshine is streaming through my office window as I write this e mail to you, it’s going to be a lovely day (I hope)

I hope you all had a great Easter break with lots of chocolate of course. Easter is not quite over for everyone, Orthodox Easter 2026 was yesterday Sunday, 12^th  April. So what is all that about as ever I googled it

Many Orthodox churches base their Easter date on the Julian calendar, which often differs from the Gregorian calendar that is used by many western countries. Therefore, the Orthodox Easter period often occurs later than the Easter period that falls around the time of the March equinox.

Millions of Orthodox Christians worldwide observe Easter, also known as Pascha, each year. It is estimated that there are more than 250 million Orthodox Christians in the world.

In Greece, Easter Sunday is also a widely celebrated occasion. Lambs are roasted on a spit and the provision of wine is abundant. The roasted lamb is served in honour of Jesus Christ, who was sacrificed and rose again on Easter. Lamb is the most traditional Greek Easter food. Red-dyed eggs are cracked against each other and the person with the last remaining uncracked egg will have good luck. Easter Sunday is a time of festivity and people eat, chat or dance throughout the night.

Here is another classis saying by Laurel and Hardly “another fine mess you have got us into” only this time I am referring to President Donald J Trump (potty mouthed President) he has been seriously backed into a corner by the scheming Clerics of Iran these throwbacks to the Middle Ages have been shown by the USA that they have a serious weapon in their arsenal given to them by G-d that is the natural topography of The Straits of Hormuz. The peace talks have broken up without a resolution, hands up all those who are surprised by this outcome humm as I thought I see no one is surprised. So now what Donald, Mr President, more bombing, more grandstanding, more threats that the Clerics won’t take a blind bit of notice.  

Sadly, the war in Ukraine is still going on it has slipped off the headlines, but Prick Putin is still at it and there seems no end in sight.

Hungary will soon have a new government, Victor Orban the Prime Minister and Prick Putin’s pal is after 16 years in office out of power what does it mean for us in the UK? I have no idea but if another friend of Putin is off the scene that is a good thing.  

Artemis 2 mission is complete the four brave astronauts are back home in one piece, mission successful, SPACE is fascinating I would love to go into space but that ship has clearly sailed however I totally want to and will go to Florida to watch a space rocket blast off, that is on my bucket list.  

CONGRATULATIONS

CONGRATULATIONS to Paddington The Musical it was the big winner at the 2026 Olivier Awards

CONGRATULATIONS to Rory McIlroy who  became only the fourth man to win successive Masters titles.

CONGRATULATIONS to the Hungarian opposition Tisza party, led by Péter Magyar, who won the Hungarian parliamentary election

And that’s the view from my MM and Company desk for this week

MM and Company news update

Greece

Maria, Lisa, Tina, Fanni, Miltos, Eleni Giorgos and the team at Event Makers DMC Greece reminded me to tell everyone about the fact that Marriott International is strengthening its long-term commitment to Greece with the signing of nine new agreements, representing nearly 1,000 additional rooms. The deals mark the anticipated debut of Residence Inn by Marriott and Le Méridien in the country. Currently Marriott has 47 properties in Greece, more than 6,000 rooms, across 10 brands in 12 destinations nationwide.

Marriott’s growth plans include the debut of Residence Inn by Marriott and Le Méridien in Greece. Marriott will have in Athens city centre the 57-room Residence Inn by Marriott Athens.  Expected to open in 2027, is the 229-room Le Méridien Sissi Crete. Expansion plans for Crete also include the announcement of the 314-room Milatos Marriott Resort Crete, which is anticipated to open in 2028.

Tribute Portfolio is slated to open its second hotel on the island in 2026 with the 40-room The Tenant, Heraklion Crete In Orosea, Paros, Autograph Collection is poised to join the brand’s global collection of independent hotels in 2026 with 40 rooms. In 2025, Marriott also signed and opened the 20-room Tella Thera, a Member of Design Hotels, and the 20-room Stamna Sifnos, a Member of Design Hotels, the company also signed the 41 room Eréma Milos, a Member of Design Hotels in which is expected to open this year.

If you ever need a buyout location, ask Maria and the Event Makers DMC team I am certain they can come up with a solution.

MM and Company

I am delighted to tell you that we at MM and Company have signed a representation agreement to represent a terrific, well-established DMC in Italy, Incanto DMC Italy led by Susanne Kosian, Managing Director and Gaby Vanek the Operations Director. Susanna Gaby and the Incanto DMC team operate throughout Italy and its Islands

IMEX 19^th – 20^th May

I am gathering which of our DMCs will be there so far

Eva Hoffman of Cornerstone Meetings DMC will be at IMEX 

Stephane Louise Hello Islands DMC Mauritius will be at IMEX

Marc Schwabach of Ambiance Incentives DMC will be at IMEX

And that is about it for this Monday, you know as much as I know, wishing you an outstanding day and an awesome week ahead.