Holy Schmeikey!

From 'keeper to TV host

With a water hose in his large hand, he scrubs the fountain, and sometimes his eye brows too, at intervals.

He then looks up and breaks into a grin, with a big shiny red nose that looks as though it had some brushing as well. Ladies and gentlemen..

It's our Manchester United legend, Peter Schmeichel!

I was just about to switch to another TV channel when I caught a glimpse of that famous white-blond hair of his. This time, our big man was in Venice, Italy to help clean the city in an episode of *‘Dirty Jobs With Peter Schmeichel’.

If you had been accustomed to seeing Schmikes in football gloves and boots previously, do get used to the sight of him swapping them for garden gloves and plumber’s boots in his role as the show’s host in Discovery Channel. Although I managed to catch the show with only 20 minutes to spare, I’m sure to be catching the next episode from now onwards, since it’s good to be re-acquainted with a United legend via a reality TV program.

Reflecting on the program, when I’m sitting alone and enjoying the beautiful silence, I sometimes cannot help but let my mind wander to who or what I would be next in the weeks or months (or even years) to come.

“Where do you see yourself in five years’ time?”

That’s one of the most clichéd interview questions I always come across whenever I’ve been offered a chance to attend job interviews. Hmmm..In case you’re hoping, I’m not telling you how I answered them (hint: you need to be original!) or how I snaked my way out. No, no, no…

I don’t actually belief we can plan where or how we end up; anyway, I subscribe to the belief of ‘here and now’. It’s like ‘living in the moment’, if you will.

Let’s take Manchester United for example.

Sir Alex famously said he was once keen to bring samba boy Ronaldinho to Old Trafford but instead landed a player by the name of Ronaldo. For a fleeting moment, I had thought it was the Brazilian forward, Ronaldo, but no, it was a kid with some fancy hairdo and a bucket-load of talent (well, talent-wise, we found that out pretty soon).

Some things are meant to be; some not. If we had gotten buck-tooth Ronnie instead of Cristiano Ronaldo, I could not imagine how United would have turned out for the past few seasons. Unbelievable, but you can't fight fate or destiny.

So, where do YOU see yourself in the next five years? (I can’t help being nosy, sorry!)

Well, I/you/we could be milking cows in New Zealand or travel across continents with nothing but a backpack, fueled by a desire to live life without any lofty expectations.

Or we could be giving ourselves a shot at being an amateur wrestler regardless of our body shape or size.

Or we could be ending up in the film industry (like Eric Cantona)…

Or we could even be 'ending up' as a prawn sandwich seller around Old Trafford. Be warned though, Roy Keane might just beat us to it, should he decide to get a little adventurous like his former Old Trafford colleagues, and IF the Tractor Boys (Ipswich Town FC) get flattened in the new Football League Championship season. No disrespect to the boys in blue, though.

I won’t be surprised if that does happen (Keano and his sandwiches), ever since seeing our Great Dane in his new ‘reincarnation’.

And I am always contemplating new adventures, but never a new football club :O)

*I'm not exactly sure if the European version of 'Dirty Jobs' is still actively running; I hope you can excuse me if there are some minor information discrepancies in this article.