Dateline Monday 15th January 2024

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Brrrrrrrrrrr chilly yet warm wishes on this frozen Monday Morning (Ok hands up who started singing let it go, let it go) I hope you are well and keeping warm, to hell with the expense turn on the heating and crank up that thermostat, life is far too short to be cold. The year has truly started there is no going back now, abandoned Christmas trees litter the grey, frosty, leafless street of London W10, well at least there is something green around the place. 

The World news is nothing much to write home about, the audacious South African government has taken Israel to the International Court of Justice in The Hague accusing Israel of genocide, what are they on about of course not a word against Hamas who started this terrible war oh and who supports the government of Palestine yes The South African Government, they need to take a look at their own back yard before coming to The Hague.

The Houthis are getting in on the act targeting shipping in the Red Sea, the Houthis love a war or two. I wonder what they are thinking now because of the perfectly legitimate action of the British and The American military launching strikes at the Houthis missile launch pads and ammunition storage facilities. I don’t know we don’t just flatten Tehran and get it over with. 

Spectacular but challenging video footage from Iceland of the erupting volcano, the awesome power of Mother Nature.  

Congratulations to William Lai the President elect of Taiwan, he has reached out to China, but he certainly won’t capitulate to China and why should that be just because China wants that to happen.

Congratulations to Queen Margrethe of Denmark who has abdicated in favour of the next younger generation to lead the country.          

And dear reader that is about it from a David point of view for this week at least.  

MM and Company news update

The United Arab Emirates

Jyoti, Christina, Candy and the team at TRAVCO DMC has told us that the  Waldorf Astoria Ras Al Khaimah has reopened its doors following an extensive refurbishment. The hotel has 149 guestrooms and 54 suites, the lobby has a 19-foot Waldorf Astoria clock in the centre. This clock sports a pearlized domed glass dial with an aquamarine centre, complemented by gold-plated Whitehurst seven-day mechanical movement. The hotel has nine restaurants, lounges and bars including a Japanese restaurant UMI and an American-style steak house Lexington Grill & Bar. There is a Sunset Beach Lounge with a resident DJ. When I went to Ras Al Khaimah in October last year it was under renovation, I need to go back to see the finished product.

JAPAN

Geraint, James and the crew at The J Team DMC Japan has told us that the Edition Brand has launched The Tokyo Edition, Ginza.  It is the second Edition Hotel in in Tokyo, the first one being The Tokyo Edition, Toranomon.  The Ginza property has 86 rooms and suites each room is a minimum of 440 square feet of floor space this makes them the largest standard rooms in the district. A signature Edition venue, the Lobby Bar serves coffee with beans from a local roastery, alongside pastries and fresh-pressed juices for breakfasts on the go. In the lobby is a sculptural staircase cast from white metal. It leads up to Punch Room, the Edition’s bar concept. On the 14th floor is another restaurant, Sophie at Edition it is a casual brasserie-inspired menu venue.  

New York

Today is a bank holiday in the USA it is Martin Luther King Jr. Day.