Thanks, Sir Alex.

So then. The day every single Manchester United fan has been dreading has finally arrived. The greatest manager that ever lived will leave his office next weekend for the final time, and the Sir Alex Ferguson era will finally come to a halt.

There aren’t many words that haven’t already been uttered today by ex-players, fellow managers, friends, journalists or otherwise, but there are memories that haven’t emerged.

I’ve never known a Manchester United without Sir Alex – we won our first league title in 26 years three days before I was born, in April 1993. He’s always been there in some shape or form as a little guide to the timeline of my life – I associate the great man with so many elements of my childhood.

I remember being completely in awe when watching him walk down the touchline at my first game against Everton in 1997. I remember watching him leap up and down on Boxing Day 1999 when we thumped Bradford 4-0.

I remember watching the first half of the Champions League Final in 1999, before being sent to bed as school was the next day. I remember going to sleep thinking we’d lost, only to be woken up an hour later to hear we’d turned it round. I remember running downstairs to watch us lift the Cup, as Mum held the phone to the telly, and hear the immortal words, ‘Football, bloody hell’.

I remember watching us lift trophy after trophy, and feeling really greedy when someone else lifted our cup. Because it was ours - we always won it, so why should anyone else have it?

Premier League after Premier League, and FA Cups galore. Watching us lift the Champions League in 1999 could only be topped by 2008, when I physically sobbed as van der Sar became a hero. Even watching his face of complete joy as Michael Owen stuck the 97th-minute winner into the net during the best Manchester Derby I’ve ever seen back in 2009.

And then there were the very few disappointments. Jaap Stam, Roy Keane, David Beckham… All three were my favourite players, and all three left on slightly distasteful terms. Losing the Champions League Final on two separate occasions over the last four years hurt deep, yet we sat down, we brushed ourselves off, and we started again.

It seemed almost routine that a season would begin as it did the previous year – Sir Alex racing off down the touchline into his technical area, getting ready for another assault on Europe’s silverware. Yet not come August 2013.

It’s a terrifying prospect, but one that was unavoidable at some stage. After 26 years, 1,500 games and 38 trophies, it’s time for him to clear his desk, empty his locker and head on down the corridors of Old Trafford. Although only heading upstairs as a Director and Ambassador to the club, the dugout will never, ever be the same again.

Sir Alex now has eleven days left as manager of Manchester United Football Club. We now have eleven days to witness the end of a wonderful era in world football. The last of the very great managers to have been given the time, the money and the chance to develop a squad capable of taking on the world. The difference between Sir Alex and the rest, however, is he didn’t just do it once – he did it time and time again.

I’ve felt quite numb all day – it’s really hit hard. I’ve never met Sir Alex, let alone know him well, yet it feels like a friend is leaving. Football isn’t just a game to a football fan – it’s a way of life.

It’s something that will continue on and on no matter what strifes or struggles you feel in your life. Your friends are still going to appear at the game every Saturday afternoon, even if things are getting you down. You can confide in football, yet always feel proud of whatever has been achieved. It may sound stupid, but until you feel it, you won’t understand it.

And losing Sir Alex a week on Sunday will be an emotional affair. It’s not just the end of an era, it’s the beginning of a new one. And as sad as it may be, it’s also an exciting prospect.

Manchester United will live on without Sir Alex, yet a little bit of it will fade as he walks away. He’s not just helped shape the club, he’s helped shape world football, and he’s helped shape me.

From the bottom of my heart, thank you, Sir Alex. Thanks for making the world a little bit brighter for us all.

You can come and say hello over on Twitter – I’m @AdamMillsUK, or you can drop me an email here.

Perennial Ramblings: Part #7

Last night, I got to the station, bought my ticket, and the final train was delayed, before being cancelled. This could’ve been a serious problem had I not had the option to stay, but totally screwed up all our plans, notably another party we needed to get to.

It was half eleven at night, with one train every half hour. So how do the train operators always seem to manage to screw it up, with delays, cancellations or a distinct lack of trains?

I can just about understand it during rush hour, with trains coming from all directions every single minute, but at night, going IN to London? That’s not on.

I spoke to the train operator this morning who said they ‘couldn’t help’. Customer service, hey…

Something needs to give before we all turn to another mode of transport.

Windows Live Messenger: 1999-2013

Our old friend.

Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, thank you for gathering with us on this emotional day. It is with great sadness that we are here to celebrate the life of Windows Live Messenger.

MSN, as it was known to friends, was one of the kindest, brilliant, sophisticated friends I knew. I’m sure many of you felt the same. Despite the terminal prognosis dished out last autumn, MSN battled on, and will forever remain in our hearts and in our minds.

We met at primary school – cheating the system with a date of birth to allow me to meet MSN. We got on well quickly – he introduced me to a whole new bunch of friends. It was so easy to talk to MSN day in, day out – it was like we knew each other intuitively.

We’ve laughed, we’ve cried, we’ve smiled, and we’ve thrown things at each other… Me more so. MSN has seen relationships formed, relationships felled, friendships strained, laughs shared, work meetings held, family reunions broadcast and wonderful winks seemingly appear from nowhere.

MSN is, was, and always will be a good egg. He met his successor at the same time as we all did – back in 2011, when Microsoft found Skype to be the new MSN. Despite trying to reinvent itself so often, MSN just couldn’t stand up to the job of a more knowledgable, advanced friend, and that is why we are stood here today.

Given the circumstances, it wasn’t an unexpected loss, yet it still pains us all. We’ve lived our lives through MSN for so long – it grew up with us, and us with MSN.

If MSN were here today, it’d throw out a small man through a line, who stuck his tongue out. That’s just who MSN was. We’ll miss you, we will always appreciate you, and we’ll thank you for every single memory you left us.

Windows Live Messenger – always a friend on our contact list.

Languages: We Should DEFINITELY Learn Them Earlier

It’s been an awful long time since I’ve had to try and learn a language. Some people just get it; some seriously don’t. I most certainly fall into that latter category.

My battles with Year 9 French still haunt me six years on. My GCSE German mark was only that high because I took the Foundation paper. And now my degree module in Spanish (admittedly, it’s called ‘Spanish for Beginners’…) is about to hit me like a North Korean atomic bomb.

I don’t get on with languages – I never have, and I doubt very much I ever will. I can handle phrases, and things to get me by whilst in the country, but why the hell will I ever, ever need to describe what colour the pencil sharpener is in my pencil case? I’ll be asking for a beer and the football score, not for a small selection of objects from a stationery shop.

I’ve never been the type to really get my head around complex ideas like a second language. When others were picking it up really easily, I was sat at the back with my nose in a dictionary trying to get the imperative verb to work, yet it never did. And that’s seriously disheartening.

I have a feeling I chose German over French was to try and see if it was my inept ability to learn a language, or the language itself. Likewise the decision to try Spanish over German at university. Needless to say, it’s me.

Languages should be taught from primary school, not left till secondary school. Our education system needs a punt up the proverbial when it comes to secondary languages. I missed out at primary school and am now suffering at university because of it.

My whole Journalism degree now rests at the feet of whether or not I can write about furniture in the house in the right gender. That, to me, seems crazy – without blowing my own trumpet, I’m not a bad writer, yet my training could be halted very early on because of my inability to learn a language.

So, whilst I wallow in self pity, and others absolutely blitz their second language, have a sangria for me.

Así es la vida.

A Fond Farewell to TV Centre

Hello, old friend.

It’s been a while. A very long time, in fact. Your red-brick walls are looking tired, yet you still have the biggest smile on your face. And it’s thoroughly deserved.

I mean, you’re almost 53. 53 years old. That’s ancient – and Dad’s only a year older than you. Except he wasn’t allowed to be built in six phases.

Your ingenuity began right at the very start, using a question-mark as a footprint to create something magical. Even the idea of using almost the entirety of the triangular-shaped plot of land seemed unheard of, and within years, you had sprouted up to become the big, bold beacon of British television you have grown up to be.

You have been graced with geniuses throughout your life – from Morecambe & Wise to Basil Fawlty; the Two Ronnies to all eleven Doctors; Eric Idle to David Attenborough; Parky to all 35 Blue Peter presenters; Captain Mainwaring to Del Boy; Baldrick to Edina & Patsy; Wallace & Gromit to Jim Royle; Paxman to Dimbleby; Partridge to Jools Holland; Richard Wilson to Dawn French; Dirty Den & Angie to Terry Wogan… The list is quite literally endless.

Time after time, you’ve helped capture exactly what the public needed. Whether it was a laugh over on BBC Two, a good ol’ fashioned investigation over on One, something fun on Three or Swedish on Four, let alone all the wonderful sounds you have emitted on our radio airwaves over the years or the copy you’ve put on the website.

You’ve innovated on the wireless, innovated on the gogglebox, and innovated on the World Wide Web. You’ve created not one but four incredibly-successful TV channels, delivered ten national radio stations, and formed one of the most-accessed websites in the world.

Your weary limbs have slowly started to get ready for your long-awaited retirement, but even when your eyes are tired and you’re ready for a kip, you’ve still come up with the goods. The iPlayer is one of the biggest things to ever hit British broadcasting, and it was formed at the very heart of your wonderful being.

In 2001 they attempted to wipe the smile from your face, but you shined on; like a beacon of unrelenting Britishness. And then last summer arrived, and you got the chance to shine just one last time, with the Olympic Games. The Games made every single person in this coutnry proud, and that was part in parcel down to you.

TV Centre, I was lucky enough to take a tour of you, walk round you, and enjoy everything you did. One part of my dream I never got to do was work with you. You see, TV Centre, you’re not a building; you’re a living, breathing, incredibly productive hub, providing some of the greatest things we will ever have seen.

You may be retired later this evening, but good God, you won’t be forgotten.

Thank you – from the bottom of my heart. You wonderful being, you.

TV Centre 2010

ABL: Start a food blog

As many of you will know by now, back at the start of the year (that was a whole six weeks ago. I KNOW.) I wrote my Bucket List. With 99 things to check off my list (the other one involves me dying…), and a while to go in my life, if all goes to plan, there’s no major rush to tick them all off. But there’s a few that can be crossed off already.

The first is that of a food blog. Back in 2010, I decided that in order to be a better human being, I’d eat less crap, and eat better food. Oh, and donate to charity. Don’t forget that bit.

So, I launched My Food Revolution, a food diary for the entire year. Photos, small descriptions, and the hope that I’d make it all the way through 365 meals in order to become fitter and healthier.

I did it… I just didn’t get fitter or healthier. I managed a whole year of working my way through food, puddings, birthday booze and plenty of fun.

I’ve always wanted to complete a food diary in a different way to everyone else. I remember studying Food Technology at school, and being told to keep a food diary. I wasn’t content enough with writing down pre-filled sheets with ‘Ingredients’ and ‘Method’ over and over again – so I blogged my way through it. I loved being able to share what i was doing not just with my teacher and my classmates, but with everyone else, too.

And that inspired me to kick off My Food Revolution. My Food Rev was started with one purpose, and finished with another – but it really didn’t matter by that point. Completing an entire year project, focused around food, was a dream – whether it be in the form of MFR, or by publishing recipes, or doing something weird and wacky and completely out the box. I plumped for the easy option, but it was always a goal.

The idea was seriously simple – a photo from my phone, a quick bit on what it was, and that was that. Nothing tough, nothing difficult, but enoguh for people to want to get involved, cook their own stuff and share recipes. Which was exactly what I wanted.

I wrapped up My Food Rev in September 2011 purely for the fact that any more would kill the subject. After mentions from Jamie Oliver (King Rev himself) and a big push in the last month, we hit a million views, and over 25,000 unique visitors. It was a massive achievement, and something I’m still very proud of.

So, that’s number twelve checked off the list. Just 99 to go.

You can come and say hello over on Twitter – I’m @AdamMillsUK, or you can drop me an email here!

Perennial Ramblings: Part #6

Buongiorno. It’s been a while.

How are you? Good, yeah me too. Family well? Good! Not so bad thanks, although we all still complain about what we should watching the evenings. Some things never change, eh?

It’s been a very long time since I sat down to write something constructive. The Bucket List took a very long time, but was a project of sorts, taking three months to piece together. But that is hardly prose…

Equally, essay writing and uni assessments have taken precedent, so sorry for neglecting you. Well, ish. Sometimes it’s nice to take time out.

Things have moved on a little since we last spoke – Christmas is all but a memory, we have a New Year, I have a new computer to tap away on (I KNOW!) and a new job, too. It’s all been a rather lovely few months.

But equally, there’s been some really nasty bits, too. At some stage over the next six months, there’ll be some stuff published on here as to why that’s happened – but life has a tendency of just throwing the occasional turd at you.

Anyway, this post was mainly just to say hello, to let you all know I’ll be back very shortly, and to send plenty of New Year love out and about. Cos that’s the kinda guy I am.

Much love.