Karl's Mam
Karl's Mam is the subject of many discussions on the show. She is particularly notable for her bizarre behavior towards family pets. She once shaved a sick cat to make it easier to clean. She would also accept insects as pets, like "Harry the Housefly", a fly (or multiple flies as Ricky contended) who was "just knocking about" in the house. There was another incident where she stroked a bee to de-stress it after it came into the house on a hot day. But the story that is discussed most often is that of the time she taped a dead budgie's feathers to a rock and placed the rock in the cage to keep the surviving bird company.
Karl's mam is a fan of Elvis because, as she says, "he liked fat, ugly women." She also appears to be something of a prude; Karl once described her discomfort over seeing sexual situations on television.
When Karl was a child, his mother was somewhat overprotective of him. She once made him stay home from school because it was windy. On another occasion she locked young Karl inside the house so he couldn't do his paper round on a snowy day.
One of the memorable incidents with involving Karl's mam occurred when Karl decided to buy her a gift for Christmas. He purchased a Victoria Plum figurine, assuming she'd like it because of her fascination with gnomes. After buying it, he asked if she liked the figure when he saw it again as they were shopping. Unfortunately, she didn't like it at all. When she got it on Christmas, she pretended to like it. Karl was left devastated, and he claimed to be scarred for the rest of his life. Because of this, he does not like to buy gifts for anyone to this day.
Mentions on the Show
- 24 November 2001 - Karl talks about how his Mam has the same birthday as his Dad
- 08 December 2001 - Karl recalls advice given to him as a boy to not chase butterflies
- 23 November 2002 - Karl brings up his Mam listening for the first time and sending in her own Rockbusters clues
- 21 December 2002 - Karl tells the Victoria Plum story for the first time
- 11 January 2003 - Shaved Cat
- 24 December 2005 - Karl's Mam's budgie died the night before
- 31 December 2005 - His Mam put the dead bird's feathers on a rock to keep the other bird company