Ana, Mum, Dad, Nicki, Family and Friends,

It is unthinkable that we are gathered here, and that I am standing in front of you to say goodbye to Martin my little brother...

I know life takes many twists and turns and can test us all, but let us erase the sorrow of what happened in that tragic accident and replace it with love, positivity and forever celebrate the life of Martin, who was a very special individual.

He was remarkable in so many ways. He lived his life to the fullest and touched so many people during his time here, as evident by so many of you here with us and the overwhelming number of condolences we have received from around the world.

I will always remember my brother Martin as a cheeky, happy guy, who had tons of charm and charisma, a smooth operator, with a big heart and a big smile.

As I pondered the right words to express my thoughts about my brother Martin, I remembered the valued and meaningful roles that Martin played throughout his life.

First and foremost I see him as the family man. He was a loving husband to Ana and a loving son. Looking back, he was happiest when surrounded by his family. His devotion to Ana and his family were the foundation of his actions - the anchor that shaped his life.

I see Martin - the friend. He was a good friend to so many! He could be counted on and depended on always. He was there with his creative, crazy ideas, his positive approach to life; he was your man; ready, steadfast, willing and good fun. As I look out at the faces in this beautiful church, I see many family members and friends and I know that you will miss the friendship that Martin brought into your lives. I'm sure you all will remember him in your own special way.

As I continue to turn the pages in Martin’s life, I see the serious side to Martin, a compassionate, dynamic, individual who was absolutely committed to his profession in the hotel industry, starting way back, when he studied hotel management at University with Ana. We were all so proud of him working his way up in the hotel business, working in challenging Middle Eastern countries, leading large teams and inspiring all. I know he has influenced everyone who has ever worked with him in a way that will stay with them for the rest of their lives. The same way he used to feel about Ana being such a great influence on his life, although he did remind her frequently, he taught her everything she knows...

I see Martin, the consummate professional. He had so much potential and there is no question that his ultimate goal of becoming GM was around the corner - he always had aspirations at being the best in the business. In fact, he said to me on many occasions when we were little, that when we grew up, he would be Hotel Manager of the Doha Sheraton and I would be a serving behind the counter at McDonalds.

I see my brother as an adventurer. He was a brave risk taker, who saw opportunity and made the most of it. He had no inhibitions and would rise to any challenge. He and Ana traveled the world; they shared such an interest in culture. He was such a free spirit and loved trying new things.

I see Martin, the dancer, He loved celebrating, he loved music! If I close my eyes I see Ana and he hand in hand dancing away to cool tunes, with him singing his head off with a beaming smile.

I see Martin as a man of passion and a dedicated supporter. He remained a keen sportsman who loved football, basketball, tennis, golf, Formula 1 racing... we spent countless hours, watching, playing and discussing sports with Dad.

I see him as the peoples’ man. More than anything Martin loved people. – He always made the time to make each and every person feel special. – He had this incredible presence that was infectious and unforgettable.

Everyone in this room has no doubt shared a conversation or heard one of his stories, where you would either be left speechless, shocked or in hysterical laughter. He was so animated and passionate in his story telling, you can hear now, his accent, his big burly laugh.

Martin I am so grateful for my time with you on this earth, and I know everyone in this room is grateful for the time they spent with you – Ana, we love you dearly, and while you are sad today, life will go on and we are here to support you - we all have wonderful memories we can cherish forever.

It seems rather strange and yet comforting that Mum always called him her little blonde angel and now he really is one.

I know his spirit will live on, forever in Ana, Mum, Dad and we will remember you through the many people still left behind, whose lives you touched so positively.

... You will still laugh and love - sing and dance - hug and kiss,
... You will be forever with us,
... You will be forever Ana’s husband,
... You will be forever a brother, a son, a nephew, a cousin, a friend.

You may not realise it, but you leave an amazing legacy behind, in the things that you did, and the way that you did them.

I am going to miss you Bro.

I promise you Martin, we will be missing you every day until the end of time.

I was shocked to see this photo here (thank you Ana). This was such an amazing moment. My brother had flown into Bahrain for 4 days and Karim, me and him were going out with some friends to celebrate a birthday. Little did I know that night would be the night I bump into Martin who I hadn't seen for years, the night I was able to introduce my Doha family to my Bahrain family, the night I met Ana, so many wonderful things in one night. We fell back into old ways, joking like we always did, making fun of each other and reminiscing and in true Martin fashion telling hilarious embarrassing stories. 

That was the rekindling of our friendship, with dinners, Martin's  amazing mulled wine, and an amazing Christmas Day, we were so excited for so much more. We are devastated that you left us so soon, but I know my Baba will look after you up there, and I'm sure you will make his belly ache with laughter. 

Until we meet again, fly high my dear friend, heaven has definitely gained another angel. xxxx

His the best person,best manager,best buddy.best director.best mentor.thank you so much for what u did to me.because of you im here in my position. I will not forget you sir.ur always here in my hearth.ur the best manager best director of f and b.

I am sharing this image of Martini at my birthday, I was 21.

I can remember the moment; my mum had ordered catering from the Doha Sheraton, which included a giant cake with an image of our dog, Gambol on it. We laughed hard when the cake came out, because everyone knew I was nuts about Gambie...

Martini’s laugh is ringing in my head... he was so funny and whenever we were with him, so many laughs were shared.

Martini has been a part of my life for such a long time and even though he and Chris took very different career paths, and lived in different parts of the world, it was always so exciting to meet up, be it Doha, Garmisch, London, Portugal... because he had such a presence about him.

He was always happy, kind, considerate, loving, passionate, and fun.  He loved life, he loved people.

I will miss seeing him rustle up a gourmet meal out of our bare kitchen cupboards... hearing how to cook a delicious recipie... seeing him shove a thousand things into his pockets before we go out...  hearing those never ending funny stories... seeing him shake his booty when dancing... receiving the biggest kisses and hugs... his laugh.

I love you Martini, and I will miss you forever x 

Vert sad to hear this news , I only met Martin in his last year at uni but he had a big impact when we met . A truly lovely guy with great confidence,  full of stories and laughter , I saw how much he and Ana were a close unit and my prayers and thoughts with Ana and Martins family. Funny times from playing football on Sunday nights up at the varsity ! 

Martin loved life and This was infectious to whoever he met 

I don't recall the first time I met Martin. I certainly knew about him before we first spoke, he was the proverbial "big man on Campus". I suppose we met through Marcus at first, between the two of them it felt like they knew everyone at UniS. 

I would watch Martin when he spoke to people, so confident, it was like he had known everyone for years, in his element cracking a joke or being the centre of attention, but that was one of his greatest skills, being at ease with people and most importantly making them feel at ease as well. I know that he was virtually born into the hospitality business but man, he was born for it as well. It was no surprise to watch him go from strength to strength in an industry that he had a real passion for. 

We really got to know each other when we lived together in the second half of the second year at University. There were lots of good British spring and summer days on the bbq and our nights were spent doing, well, doing what you do at University. 

There was some study too, late night report writing and cramming sessions inspired by the music of Bob Marley, I remember there maybe 4 or 5 of us cramped in Martins box room at Manor Farm. We all worked well together when we finally put our minds to it and although getting him to sit still long enough to focus on the topic could be a challenge, I will always remember fondly him telling me that in the half year we lived together he got his best grades. 

I remember when he first met Ana. Once he started dating her, man, he was pretty infatuated right from the off, walking around with this permanent grin on his face. We didn't see him for a while after that!

I met his big brother Chris a couple of times when he came down to visit, he always seemed so grown up to me as a student, always really nice and polite, but just a little bit more serious than Martin, I was pretty sure that he was sent to check up on Martin and to give him a kick up the backside if it was needed!

If you look on Martin's facebook photos you will see some pictures from our graduation. I looked through them yesterday and there's a picture of me with my Mum and Dad. I had completely forgotten about it but it really summed Martin up, he could see how proud my mum was, taking photos with her little disposable camera, so he marched up as confident as you like, introduced himself to my parents that he had never met and told them he (or maybe his Dad, I can't recall exactly) that he was taking a picture of the three of us. Enhancing others experiences - it was what he did personally, and why he was so good at it professionally.

I suppose that was the last time I saw him. At the end of University we all went our separate ways. Martin back to the Middle East, others to Asia, Australia, the Maldives and various parts of Europe and beyond. I have been out to the Middle East a few times with work and I would text Martin and he dropped me a line when he was back in the UK a few times but our paths were never to cross again. It will remain one of my greatest regrets that we didn't get to meet up and reminisce about the 'good old days'. We all think that our time on this rock is endless, but tragically it is not. 

The one thing that Martin always made damn sure of was that he didn't waste a second of the time he got, he was the definition of living life to the full; full of fun and joy, full of food and drink but most of all, full of friendship. The evidence for this is clear in the sheer volume and depth of reaction from people that he has touched. At first I was amazed at the number of messages being posted, and reading through them all, amazed again that they came from people all over the world, from people of all ages, races and religions, then I wasn't amazed, this was Martin, what else did I expect.

Some he had known for years as family, friends of the family or friends from "back in Doha" (you guys who went to school, college or grew up with him should know that this became one of Martins catchphrases because he was so fond of telling his pretty outrageous stories from back home - whether we wanted to hear them or not), others like me, a much more brief time, we only really knew each other for two years. Some of you maybe knew him for even less than that but the theme that runs through all of the messages is the same, Martin, albeit far too briefly, you brought joy to our lives, and for that we have to thank you.

You were a one of a kind, a guy that bought people together, a friend, a colleague, a confidant, a comedian, touching people all over the world. You connected to people on such a personal level and used your personality to build connections between others with a unique, let's call it style, that means you will always be in people's thoughts and hearts. 

I'm sorry (and a little bit surprised) if you have read all of this, but I thank you, writing this has helped me, but what has helped me more are my memories of Martin. My favourite one, is the picture below. Martin isn't in the picture. That's me in the middle looking a bit like a girl. The reason the others in the background are all staring at the camera is because Martin decided it would be funny to take a picture of me, whilst we were sitting our second year university exams. I didn't even notice. It was only when he proudly showed me outside that I realised. I remember cracking up and almost certainly called him a "very crazy guy". I came across it yesterday when I was looking through his photos on Facebook, when I saw it I just burst into a mix of tears and laughter, even now in this darkest moment, thinking of you can only bring a smile to my face, that's the gift you gave us all and one that we can all cherish forever, a smile or a laugh shared between friends. 

RIP FGB Peace out brother. K xx

The best restaurant award goes to Spice Market due to the extraordinary effort & drive Martin put into Spice Market. Martin, my friend, you were a superstar!