Cyclist retires

Sir Chris Hoy, who has won six Olympic gold medals during his career, announced this week that he is to retire from competitive cycling.

Sir Chris, 37, has been competing at the highest level for 13 years. He won his sixth Olympic gold in the Keirin event in London last summer. He had hoped to keep competing until the Commonwealth Games next year in Glasgow, where the cycling competitions will be held in a velodrome named after him. He said: "To go on for another year would be one too far".

007's new adventure

James Bond was originally created in a series of novels by Ian Fleming, with the first published 60 years ago. Fleming died in 1964, at the age of 56. Since then his family have commissioned two authors to write new Bond stories.

Now another author, William Boyd,  has been asked to write a new story. It will be published by Fleming's original publisher on the 60th anniversary of the first novel, Casino Royale.

Boyd has been talking about the new Bond book this week. He has decided to call it Solo. The plot has the author going on a mission of his own without any official orders. Much of the action takes place in Africa, but also in the US.

The sweetest way to quit

When an immigration officer quit his job this week it made headlines. This was because Chris Holmes, who worked at Stansted Airport, wrote his resignation in black icing on a white cake he had made. The iced cake was 12 inches by 10, and was "very nice" according to the Border Force.

Holmes, 31, has been setting up a baking business in his spare time. After his baby son was born five weeks ago, he decided it was important to spend time doing things which made him happy. So he decided to turn cake making into his full time job.

Pictures of the resignation cake quickly spread on the internet. As a result, Holmes, who calls himself Mr Cake, got lots of orders. He says writing on the cake was tricky, even though he had practiced. "I would have done it a bit neater if I'd known," he said.

Huge funeral takes over central London

Former prime minister Margaret Thatcher had a ceremonial funeral this week. Her body lay in state in a House of Parliament chapel all night, and was taken to St Paul's Cathedral on a gun carriage pulled by horses. Guests at the funeral included the Queen.

Baroness Thatcher was a politician who was both loved and hated. So there were protests, with people on the funeral route turning their back on the coffin. People who had lost their jobs when she closed coal mines also protested.

Meanwhile, the Spanish city of Madrid has decided to name a street after her.