Award-winning pub The Dolphin in St Mary’s Street, Wallingford, has been named as a finalist in the Great British Pub Awards 2026.

The awards, described as ‘the Oscars of the pub industry’, highlight the very best boozers in Britain, and select their shortlist across 16 categories from an ‘incredible number of top-quality entries’.

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The Dolphin has been shortlisted as one of six pubs under the ‘best Greene King pub’ category.

The Dolphin pub in St Mary’s Street, Wallingford (Image: Madeleine Evans / Newsquest)

Emma Cox, landlady, said: “To even be named as a finalist is something we’re genuinely speechless about.

“We pour everything we’ve got into this pub, and to have that recognised on a national stage is an incredible feeling.

“This is for our amazing team and every one of you who has supported us, filled the bar, cheered at the football, eaten with us, laughed with us, and made The Dolphin what it is.

Emma Cox, landlady of The Dolphin in Wallingford (Image: Supplied)

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“Whatever happens next, we’ll be celebrating this one. Thank you for being part of our journey.”

It’s not the first time the Greene King pub has won recognition, after being crowned the brand’s Pub of the Year 2026 at the Night of Excellence Awards in April.

The pub has been proudly run by Ms Cox and her family for 23 years, is considered the heart of the community in town and was even recognised by King Charles when the landlady was invited to the Buckingham Palace Garden Party for her service to Wallingford.

Masoom’s Indian Kitchen and Bar will open in Church Street, Bodicote, near Banbury, in the coming months, with the owner declaring ‘the countdown has begun’.

The new owner behind the endeavour is Mijan Ahmed, 44, who worked in the renowned kitchens of Malik’s in Cookham, the owner of which is his cousin, and other respected Indian kitchens.

Mijan Ahmed, 44, is opening Masoom’s Indian Kitchen and Bar in Bodicote (Image: Mijan Ahmed)

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He’s owned and successfully run a restaurant in Goring since 2005, and is now planning to bring the flavours of those kitchens to Bodicote.

A statement from Masoom’s said: “Our stunning new MASOOM’S Indian Kitchen & Bar sign is now proudly in place, and we couldn’t be more excited. Every day we’re getting one step closer to opening our doors and welcoming you all.

Mr Ahmed plans to bring the flavours of the kitchens he’s worked in to Masoom’s in Bodicote (Image: Mijan Ahmed)

“From the luxurious interior to the incredible food our chefs are preparing, we’re creating something truly special an experience unlike anything else in the area.

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Beer on tap at the new establishment (Image: Mijan Ahmed)

“A huge thank you to everyone for your continued support and patience. We can’t wait to share this journey with you.”

The grand opening date has not yet been announced, but Mr Ahmed said he hopes to open the doors before the end of the month.

Masoom’s will open in 1 Church Street, formerly the home to The Spice Room which closed after it was given a zero star hygiene rating by Cherwell District Council in 2022.

With big names like Prunella Scales, Connie Booth, John Cleese, and Andrew Sachs backing the original Fawlty Towers television run, it’s hard not to walk into the New Theatre to watch its first night without a bit of doubt.

But I can assuredly say the play did not disappoint.

Fawlty Towers checked into the New Theatre Oxford with a gloriously chaotic stage adaptation that feels like a love letter to the original series.

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Danny Bayne and John Cleese (Image: Trevor Leighton)

Even if you know every episode by heart, this stage version serves up enough new flourishes and perfectly executed farce to make a return visit to Fawlty Towers feel irresistible.

Standing in for Danny Bayne, understudy Adam Elliot played the eternally exasperated Basil, capturing Cleese’s Fawlty’s wit and sarcasm but ensuring the live audience see and laugh at every moment.

Mia Austen, a heavy weight in West End theatre, played the razor-sharp Sybil Fawlty nailing everything down from her walk to her outrageous shrill of a laugh, with her typical phone call to avoid doing any work sending you right back to the original episodes.

Paul Nicholas plays the delightfully bumbling Major in Fawlty Towers: The Play, capturing the character’s absent-minded eccentricity with gentle humour and old-school charm. His performance mirrors the beloved TV original while adding a stage-friendly warmth that lands especially well with live audiences.

Joanne Clifton’s Polly is sharp, capable and quietly exasperated, grounding the hotel’s chaos with quick thinking and dry wit.

The ensemble timing is tight, the set cleverly evokes the shabby Torquay hotel, and the famous set pieces – from malfunctioning catering to catastrophic guest relations – are reimagined with inventive physical comedy.

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John Cleese (Image: Trevor Leighton)

Born out of a stay at the now-demolished Gleneagles Hotel in Torquay while filming Monty Python, John-Cleese based his Basil Fawlty on the hotel’s owner who he later called “he rudest man I’ve ever come across in my life”.

From critcising guests table etiquette, throwing their briefcases out of a window in case it “contained a bomb” and a view from Michael Palin that his guests were seen as a “colossal inconvenience” Cleese certainly didn’t have to dig deep for his rude Fawlty.

No comedy show has had quite the impact that Fawlty Towers does, with only two series consisting of twelve episodes overall it would be remiss to say an audience couldn’t even build a fan base of of it in the modern world.