Dateline Monday 29th June 2026

Good morning happy Monday I hope all is well with you and that you are happy that things have cooled down somewhat. For me I love a scorcher although having to put on a black tie dinner suit for the Thursday evening Micebook Awards dinner was a bit of a challenge, the only compromise I made was on that occasion I took an air conditioned Uber to the Rosewood Chancery Hotel in Grosvenor Square, under normal weather conditions I would have got the tube to Bond Street which is four stops from home and walked five minutes from the station to the hotel  

The “red tops” tabloid newspapers were once again using my favourite headlines “COR WHAT A SCORCHER” and it was big time. This week is going to be normal weather 25 degrees C and maybe a bit of rain towards the end of the week.. 

Let’s we what is going on, FIFA World Cup 2026 is well underway, sorry to see Scotland knocked out, happy to see England progress but they really do need to up their game big time. Ascot is done and dusted; Wimbledon starts today I wonder how Serena Williams will do. All eyes are on Cameron Norrie, Jack Draper, and Emma Raducanu. There is some rain forecast for this week so expect a few disruptions.

Father’s Day and the Summer Solstice has been and gone; there is a full Strawberry Moon forecast today. The Islamic New Year 2026, marking the start of Hijri year 1448, has been celebrated as well.

Politics is a funny old game, Sir Kir is toast, the Makerfield Bi election was predictably won by Andy Burnham, he is making a speech today about the economy let’s see what he has to say, sadly I am predicting it will be Labour as usual more tax from people working to give to people that can’t work, won’t work or don’t want to work. They are desperate for more funds I am predicting a rise in VAT possibly only on luxury goods not on everyday items.

Tragedy in Venezuela, two earthquakes in quick succession collapsed buildings people trapped with little chance of getting rescued.

Sad news that 11 skydivers were killed in France when their plane crashed and The USA and Iran are taking pot shots at each other once again.

We at MM and Company exhibited at The Meetings Show we welcomed several of the awesome DMCs we represent the DMC executives that joined us for one full on evening then two terrific steamy days exhibiting at Excel, were Eva Hoffman from Cornerstone Meetings DMC Germany, Lisa Janson from Event Makers DMC Greece, Susanne Kosian and Elena Cicconetti from Incanto DMC Italy, Calum Kelly and Toyoko Umeda from The J Team DMC Japan and Muge Altug from Blue DMC Turkey

CONGRATULATIONS to the Cape Verdi football team who made it to the knockout stages of the World Cup

FINALLY as tradition dictates the author of your Monday morning e mail is now signing off for July and August, I will be back, inshallah as we now say in England on MONDAY 7^th SEPTEMBER wishing you and yours an amazing summer, stay safe, have fun, see you soon 😊  

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

MM and Company news update

INDIA, NEPAL and SRI LANKA

We at MM and Company are proud and delighted to tell you that we have signed an agreement to feature EASTBOUND DMC India, Nepal and Sri Lanka to the MM and Company portfolio of awesome DMCs on our web site. We have known and worked with Eastbound DMC for many, many years first as full-on representation, now the Eastbound DMC team have rejoined MM and Company as a featured DMC  

Dubai

Jyoti, Christina, Joshua, Nestor and the TRAVCO DMC team are delighted to tell us that Dubai is back in business after the UK lifted its travel advisory for the UAE. Flights through Dubai are getting back to normal. The change aligns Britain with a broader trend among Western governments that have recently softened earlier restrictions. Canada continues to advise travellers to exercise caution but has not imposed a blanket prohibition on travel to the UAE. The United States, however, remains more cautious. The State Department currently maintains a Level 3 “Reconsider Travel” advisory for the UAE

Mauritius

Stephane, Carine and the team at Hello Islands DMC Mauritius have told us that Air Mauritius is seeking to increase flights from Gatwick to a daily nonstop service, there are lots of daily flights through Dubai and other hubs. Air Mauritius currently runs up to five non-stop flights each week between London Gatwick and Mauritius International Airport.

Austria Salzburg

Martin, Eveyln, and the team at e+o DMC Austria have told us that the Radisson Blu Hotel & Conference Centre, Salzburg, is awesome space for meetings, conferences, incentives and events, the hotel has 262 rooms and suites and big event space with a ballroom for up to 1,000 guests. The hotel is situated approximately 300 meters from Salzburg’s main railway station, with direct rail connections to Vienna, Munich and Zurich. Salzburg Airport W. A. Mozart is five kilometres away, about a seven-minute drive. The UNESCO-listed Old Town is approximately 20 minutes’ walk along the Salzach River.

SPAIN

Marc, Olga, Céline and the team at Ambiance Incentives DMC have told us about Mallorca's new 5-star convention centre located at Playa de Palma just 10 minutes from the airport and along the road from the existing convention centre, with lots of options including a conference room for 270 delegates theatre-style, boardroom format meeting rooms, and rooftop spaces for cocktail receptions and activities.  Aubamar Palma Resort has 495 guest rooms and suites

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