Long revered for changing great swathes of the English landscape during the eighteenth century, Lancelot ‘Capability’ Brown’s skills also extended to architecture. Appropriately, a rare example of his ecclesiastical buildings opens its doors again last weekend. Following major investment from the Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF) and years of painstaking work, Compton Verney’s Grade I-listed chapel is set to give visitors to the Warwickshire art gallery and park fresh insights into Brown’s considerable gifts.

Birmingham residents are urged to be on the lookout for emails and letters from the council’s elections office over the next few weeks. As well as the usual forms that many people will be familiar with, some people will receive an email instead as part of a trial to reduce costs. Head of Electoral Services, Robert Connelly, said: “To ensure you get a vote in the next election please look out for correspondence from the Elections Office." 

A campaign to raise awareness of child sexual exploitation (CSE) is going big and bold on a key West Midlands motorway route to spread the word about this hidden crime. Motorists travelling through the M6/M5 junction this bank holiday weekend will see the message ‘Could this be your child?’ on a large digital motorway sign. Aimed at parents, the digital display, which can be seen both north and southbound, highlights warning signs they need to be aware of to help them identify concerns.

More than four in 10 British motorists are either too lazy or too busy to wash their own cars, and get someone else to do it, according to a survey carried out by AA Cars. That figure rises to nearly six in ten  for time-poor Londoners. In Scotland, the weekend tradition still appears to be in fashion with more than two-thirds stating they wash their own cars, followed by Wales, the North East and South West.

Sophia aged three has been appointed the Little Boss of Big Fun by leading holiday specialist, Eurocamp, following a one month recruitment process for the newly created role. She will take the specialist role for 12 months, which will see her and her family visit one of the brand's 180 parcs, giving her the insight she needs to advise the company on how to make its offering more fun for children and toddlers.

When it comes to dogs, the West Midlands seems to be ‘barking mad’ for man’s best friend, with two thirds of dog owners in the West Midlands opting to spend an evening with their dogs rather than without, and a half have left a pub that claimed to be dog-friendly but wasn’t. Research by DogBuddy.com; Europe’s leading online dog-sitting and home dog boarding community, also revealed Paul O’Grady (31%) as the area’s favourite dog-owning celebrity.