Dennis Minns, who lives at Sanctuary Care’s Watlington & District Residential and Nursing Home, recently received the Sacrament of Confirmation in a special service led by the Bishop of Dorchester, the Rt. Revd Gavin Collins.

Surrounded by family, friends, residents, and members of the church community, Mr Minns described the day as deeply meaningful.

The ceremony was organised with the help of Revd Val Kearney, who regularly leads Communion at the care home.

Mr Minns, a retired RAF Flight Lieutenant who served for 25 years, spent much of his life travelling with his late wife Monica and their children.

His son David, a retired priest, delivered the Gospel reading during the confirmation.

Mr Minns said: “A new life and new friends.

“The Bishop spoke like an old friend and it was a lovely occasion, which will be remembered for a long time.

“I was encouraged by my friends from the start, and I’m so pleased I listened.

“Much praise must go to the staff for organising everything—and the Bishop approved of the cakes.”

Julie Cooper, home manager, said: “Dennis is a wonderful reminder that it’s never too late to do something that is deeply meaningful.

“His enthusiasm and courage have inspired everyone at the home.”

The celebration included afternoon tea, home-made cakes, and live music.

Sophie Bevan sang Ave Maria, and musician Rick Griffin, who plays at the home’s monthly Songs of Praise event, also contributed to the occasion.

The latest announcement from the airline, which is based in Dubai, comes after Ryanair’s CEO Michael O’Leary warned UK travellers to book their summer holidays “as quickly as you can” to avoid rising costs, due the recent Middle East conflict.

In a statement on Friday (April 10) Emirates said: “Following the partial reopening of regional airspace, Emirates is operating a reduced flight schedule.

“You can check our latest flight schedules for upcoming flights and book seats to travel.

“We continue to monitor the situation, and we will develop our operational schedule accordingly.

“We would like to thank you for your understanding and patience.

“The safety and security of our passengers and crew remain our highest priority and will not be compromised.”

Emirates adds that before you travel: “Please continue to check your flight status, even after you have checked in.

“You can also review the latest operational updates on emirates.com.

“Make sure your details are up to date to receive notifications and check your email for changes or cancellations to your flights before travelling to the airport.”

Emirates is operating a reduced flight schedule to over 100 destinations.

New Bookings
Customers can check our latest flight schedules and book at https://t.co/A2RdND1Gjr . To provide further peace of mind, customers who make new bookings will also be offered one complimentary… pic.twitter.com/0pXSv4jrcp

— Emirates Support (@EmiratesSupport) April 10, 2026

The airline advises: “If your travel plans have been affected, we’ll do our best to rebook you on the next available Emirates flight.

“This applies to most disrupted tickets, including journeys connecting beyond Dubai.”

Customers booked to travel between February 28 until and including May 31 can either rebook on an alternate flight or request a refund.

Emirates continues: “To provide further peace of mind, customers who book flights from 2 April will also be offered one complimentary date change, across all cabins.

“Please note, changes must be within ticket validity, and fare difference fees may apply.”

Find out more information about what you can do when it comes to changing your Emirates flight via the airline’s travel updates page online.

Major airline with flights from UK increases fuel surcharges

The latest air travel update from Emirates comes as Air India announced it was increasing its fuel surcharge on domestic and international flights this week.

These revised fees came into effect for UK flights on Friday, although the airline assured passengers who have already booked tickets will be unaffected by the change.

Air India said: “For the avoidance of doubt, tickets that have already been issued prior to the above times will not attract the new surcharge unless customers seek date or itinerary changes that require a recalculation of the fare.

“Air India will review its surcharges periodically and make appropriate adjustments as the situation requires.”

Air India usually operates more than 60 weekly flights between India and the UK, connecting cities like Delhi, Mumbai, Bengaluru, Ahmedabad, and Amritsar to London (Heathrow and Gatwick) and Birmingham.

#ImportantUpdate

Air India group announces revised fuel surcharges on domestic and international routes.

Read more here: https://t.co/piFcCaA0jJ

— Air India (@airindia) April 7, 2026

UK airline cancels flights due to ‘huge rise in global cost of fuel’

Prior to Air India’s announcement, UK airline Skybus ceased all flights between Newquay Airport and London Gatwick from April 3, partly due to the “huge rise in the global cost of fuel”.

In a statement published by multiple news outlets, including  ITV, Skybus managing director Jonathan Hinkles said: “The huge rise in the global cost of fuel following the conflict in the Gulf, coupled with a significant drop in new passenger bookings since mid-February’s announcement of the planned closure of the PSO air route, forms an insurmountable barrier to the service continuing through April and May.

“At a time of great economic uncertainty and steps being taken to conserve energy worldwide, it is neither environmentally nor economically sound for us to continue flying with vastly reduced passenger numbers.”

The last flight operated on April 2 and all passengers who have had upcoming journeys cancelled will be refunded, according to the airline.

Have you faced any flight disruption over the last few weeks? Let us know in the comments below.

Thame Valley police and crime commissioner Matthew Barber highlighted the activities of neighbourhood police officers who intervened at the shopping centre.

South and Vale officers for Thames Valley Police stated at the end of March: “We’ve issued banning letters to a number of young people involved in antisocial behaviour within stores.

“Please keep reporting this to us, retail spaces should be enjoyable for everyone – not an obstacle course.”

A police banning letter bans an individual from entering specific premises, often shops, for a set period – usually six to 12 months.

The banning letters are often served to combat shoplifting, antisocial behaviour, or threats. It is not known which shops were affected.

Mocky Khan (Image: Oxford Mail)

South Oxfordshire district councillor Mocky Khan, who represents Didcot South and is a former town mayor, has now welcomed police issuing the banning letters.

He said: “It’s very important that our shop staff feel safe, so when there is antisocial behaviour in the Orchard Centre security staff and police do need to take appropriate action.

“Some young people are hanging around the shopping centre and at fast food restaurants because they feel like they don’t have anything else to do.

“The Edmonds Park sports pavilion has been improved and we need to continue with that kind of investment in facilities which young people can use.

“If young people are congregating, or are in a group, that shouldn’t be a concern but if antisocial behaviour is happening in shops then I back police taking appropriate action.”

The Orchard Centre in Didcot (Image: Oxford Mail)

Mr Khan said he wanted independent shops in Broadway to thrive, as well as chain stores in the Orchard Centre.

He added: “I want to see any empty units at the Orchard Centre to be filled, and for the Broadway to be busy too – they are both employing local people.”

The councillor said he was pleased that a parking issue affecting shoppers at the Orchard Centre has now been resolved.

Last year, the centre announced it would be introducing parking charges for anyone using the car park after 7pm Monday to Saturday and any time on Sundays, after two free hours, at the end of August.

Olly Glover, MP for Didcot and Wantage, had discussions with the centre’s parking management following “confusion” raised by customers over the new charges and payment arrangements.

The shopping centre then agreed to reverse the introduction of the evening charges on the 875-space car park, which is controlled by an automatic number plate recognition (ANPR) camera.

The Orchard Centre doubled in size in 2018 in a £50m expansion, which added more than 20 new shops including an M&S foodhall and clothing brand TK Maxx.

Last year, Mountain Warehouse moved to a larger retail premises and the centre welcomed the arrival of Hotel Chocolat.

Cardzone featuring Thornton’s closed in January.