Brian Viner: Pity poor Beckham. Actually, don't

Of all the injuries for David Beckham to sustain, cruelly ruling him out of consideration for the England World Cup squad, it is apt that it should be to the Achilles tendon, named after the most handsome hero of Greek mythology, invulnerable everywhere except his foot. Fatally, Achilles copped an arrow in the heel. - 16/03/2010, Brian Viner

Brian Viner: Moral vigilantes the FA doesn't need

Lord Macaulay, who could not imagine a spectacle "so ridiculous as the British public in one of its periodic fits of morality", would have been reassured these last few days to find that little has changed in 150 years. There has been some specious talk since the revelations finally emerged that the footballer John Terry had an affair with the the ex-girl- 02/02/2010, Brian Viner

Last Night's Television - Glee, E4: Delia Through The Decades, BBC2

For those of us who slightly worship Delia Smith, those of us whose copy of her Complete Cookery Course is so battered and stained it might be a medieval relic, the last couple of years have tested our devotion. I refer not so much to the occasional histrionic outbursts at Carrow Road, home of her beloved Norwich City FC, but more to her astonishingly ill In...- 12/01/2010, Reviews

Brian Viner: Sledging by the pig farm beats going to school

Snow in the country is a different proposition from snow in the city. I remember an epic snowfall in London in February 1991, and fun-loving hordes flocking to Hampstead Heath, where the property market went downhill fast in the form of estate agents' boards being used as makeshift sledges. Ironically, though, not even a chap on a zippy Folkard & Hayward - 07/01/2010, Brian Viner

Brian Viner: How horses gallop into our hearts

Enjoyable as it has been these last couple of days to see South African wickets tumbling, the transcendent sporting spectacle of the Christmas period was surely that of the mighty nine-year-old steeplechaser Kauto Star obliterating a formidable field to win his fourth successive King George VI Chase by a margin officially classified as "a distance".- 28/12/2009, Brian Viner

My Week: Mrs Santa Claus

Monday Our most hectic week of the year started with my husband's office party. He likes to give everyone a treat before the hard work begins in earnest – and believe me it's hard. No sympathy from me if you start complaining about working at Christmas. Not that the party was much of a treat for one of the elves, Bjorn, who got so drunk...- 26/12/2009, Profiles

Brian Viner: Put those machines back in their place

Here are two seemingly unconnected stories which together add up to an alternative Christmas parable. The first concerns my daughter Eleanor, 16, and her friend Annie, who have just been on a school skiing trip to the French Alps. They flew from Heathrow and they and their classmates were all told beforehand that their check-in luggage could not exceed 20- 22/12/2009, Brian Viner

Brian Viner: Own up. You'll feel better for it

'Tis the season for confessions, it seems. My own confession is that I long ago resolved never to open a column in the month of December with the words 'tis the season, so I must firstly offer a full and heartfelt apology to myself.- 09/12/2009, Brian Viner

Button's best future is with us, says Brawn

Ross Brawn broke his silence yesterday to cast doubt on reports that Formula One world champion Jenson Button is poised to join rival team McLaren next season. Speaking exclusively to The Independent, Brawn strongly advised the 29-year-old British driver that it is in his own best interests to stay with the team that took him to the world title...- 18/11/2009, Motor Racing

Let the colours work their own magic

Juli-Anne Coward grew up in one of the loveliest parts of Britain, in the village of Staveley between Kendal and Windermere, an area which for centuries has inspired artists to commit hills and lakes, sheep and trees, to canvas. So what did Coward, now aged 42, do with such an abundance of glorious countryside? She started painting buildings. A ...- 17/11/2009, Interiors

Brian Viner: Great sporting events are woven into our culture

Great sporting events are part of the fabric of our nation. Even those who loathe every aspect of sport would have to concede that the FA Cup final, Wimbledon, the Ashes and the Grand National are woven into our culture, and the accessibility or otherwise of such events on television is an emotive matter for millions of people.- 13/11/2009, Brian Viner

Brian Viner: 'Up' and away with you, critics

A few days ago I went with my wife and children to see Up, the new feature film by those brilliant animators at Pixar. As you are perhaps aware, Up has been lauded to the skies as one of the greatest achievements in animated film-making since Walt Disney doodled his first mouse. - 03/11/2009, Brian Viner

Barbara Windsor calls time on Eastenders role

Peggy Mitchell is leaving Albert Square, it was announced today, and the EastEnders scriptwriters must now decide whether she goes vertically or horizontally. Either way, the Queen Vic will need a new landlady, because 72-year-old Barbara Windsor has opted to do what as Peggy she has ordered dozens of others to do down the years. “Get out...- 28/10/2009, News

Brian Viner: We Brians are an endangered species

The list of most popular names just released by the Office for National Statistics holds no surprises at the top end, with Jack again confirmed as the name most commonly given to newborn boys in England and Wales, closely followed by Mohammed (or variations of Mohammed, such as Muhammad), then Oliver, Thomas, Harry and Joshua. Still pre-eminent among girl- 10/09/2009, Brian Viner

Keith Waterhouse

The obituary of Keith Waterhouse (8 September) reminded me of an interview I once did with Albert Finney, who told me a lovely story about his West End debut as a leading man, in Waterhouse's famous play Billy Liar, writes Brian Viner. - 09/09/2009, Obituaries