Carol Thatcher, martyr in the cause of free speech or dumb blonde? Again the BBC runs a news story about itself – the sacking of Carol from The One Show – because she described a black tennis player as a "golliwog". It's not great when a news organisation that's supposed to represent a gold standard of reporting decides that the sacking of a part-time reporter is more worthy of inclusion on the main news than school closures, the demise of the high street, or interest rates. Given this self-obsession, can we expect a news flash if Jonathan Ross's wife Jane stops dyeing her hair that unfortunate shade of shocking pink? Who decides these things?

Madison Square Garden New York, US

4 Pennsylvania Plaza, New York; www.thegarden.com; 001 212 465 6741

Madison Square Garden's claims to being the world's most famous arena is no idle boast. This is the venue that hosted John Lennon's last ever public performance (right), back in 1974. The ex-Beatle had struck an agreement with Elton John that if their duet, "Whatever Gets You Thru The Night" made it to No 1, then he would appear onstage with Elton. So, on Thanksgiving Day the pair appeared together at the Garden to play three songs. The venue initially opened in 1879 on Madison Avenue (hence the name) for bicycle racing. It's been through three incarnations since then, with the most recent one built on top of Penn Station in 1968.

The BBC came under fire today after celebrity lesbian couple Lindsay Lohan and Samantha Ronson were the subject of "gratuitously sexist and homophobic remarks" in an end-of-year show.