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I have no idea where to start this blog, what to say in the middle and how to finish it. This will probably be a stream of consciousness.

I spent four hours with Gary Speed on Saturday. He was our guest on Football Focus and was in great form. I've met and interviewed him on many occasions. I always found him to be kind, funny, intelligent and insightful.

On Saturday he was cracking jokes with Gary McAllister, his midfield partner from the title-winning Leeds side of 1991-92.

Off-air we talked about playing golf, how good his boys were at football and his dreams of taking Wales to the World Cup in 2014.

He was always interested in what you were up to. He would say: "How are you finding Sheffield, Dan? Are you and the kids settling in OK?" That was part of his charm - he cared.

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Hello good people. There was a distinct lack of bloggage last week, which I know caused havoc in some parts of the country (well, one person asked me where it was). I'll let you know what's happening this week on in a bit but I wanted to tell you about last week's trip to .

It was a while in the planning but eventually we settled on a date and booked our tickets on the . Three of us made the trip across the Channel - I was asking the questions, Graham was producer-in-chief and West Ham fan Stu was our cameraman.

Stu was the only one clever enough to check the weather in France before we left.

Graham and I weren't quite in but I think we both expected it to be a little warmer than the freeze-your-face-off conditions that met us upon arrival. Graham and I had 20 minutes at Lille station waiting for Stu to arrive. We spent that time cuddling a hot beverage and standing half a centimetre away from the only heater on the platform.

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Hello good people of the world. The most important thing to tell you is that Football Focus is on ³ÉÈËÂÛ̳2 on Saturday at 1130 GMT. We are caught in a formidable broadcasting triangle which involves and . You don't come out of that without a few bruises.

It's been an interesting week at the with the vast majority of the ³ÉÈËÂÛ̳'s football operation having moved up here. We just need Gabby Logan and the Final Score warriors to complete the set. They arrive in a couple of weeks.

There was something quite beautiful about walking into the production office last Saturday to see Alan Hansen lounging freely on his sofa watching the second-half of . For a moment, at least, all was right with the world.

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Twenty five years is a long time. Whatever you think of Sir Alex Ferguson, it is impressive he has managed to hang around in the .

I know there has been a lot on the ³ÉÈËÂÛ̳ about his landmark but the intention of this blog is to give an insight into his that took place in Manchester on Thursday, 3 November - a dinner I was asked to host.

I have mentioned on this blog before that I worked in Manchester as a sports reporter, editor and commentator for about five years from 1999. Part of my job was to visit Sir Alex twice a week to gather his thoughts on the next game and football matters in general.

Our relationship wasn't always wonderful - I was banned on a few occasions - but I maintain he gave me the best possible preparation for a career spent asking people questions, especially difficult ones. If you can take Ferguson's glare and not be turned to stone, you can tackle anyone.

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