Meeting Karl Pilkington

On November 23rd last year, I was lucky enough to meet one of my absolute favourite people: Karl Pilkington! He was at Waterstones' flagship store in London signing copies of his latest book, The Moaning of Life, which accompanies the TV series of the same name.

It took a 6am start, almost two hours on the train and a gruelling three hour wait outside the bookshop in a line consisting of at least five-hundred people, but it was all definitely worth it for the minute or so that I had with the man himself.

And I can happily say that he is exactly the same in person as he is on the TV (perhaps even nicer)! He was also very engaging and took his time to have a mini-conversation with me about the epic photograph that's on the back of his book. Here's a picture of us discussing it:

He's smiling! I made Karl smile! YAY me!

Here's another photo of us together, which also features this little red gift bag that I'd brought for him. His reaction was, 'Oh, what is it? I hate surprises.' Yup, I had my very own classic Karl moment! He was amused, slightly, when he saw that it enclosed teabags (what can I say? The man enjoys his tea!)

Finally, the signature he left inside my copy of The Moaning of Life. This will have pride of place on my bookshelf for a long time to come!

I'm so happy that I finally got to meet Karl and experience, first-hand, his unique personality. As he would say himself, 'yeah, was alright, wa'n't it?'

Have you met any of your favourite famous people? 

Enter to win Karl Pilkington & The Moaning of Life goodies [UK only]

If you're in the UK and happen to be a fan of Karl Pilkington, you'll love this competition where you can win a bunch of amazing Moaning of Life prizes!

Check out the details here:

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If the approaching end of Karl Pilkington’s TV series The Moaning of Life is set to send you into a spiral of withdrawal, worry not as the book to accompany the show is out now. And, to coincide with the launch of the DVD, a new competition has launched where three lucky winners will each receive:

• a SIGNED copy of the book
• a SIGNED illustration from the book
• a copy of the DVD. 

Plus, five runner-ups will each receive a copy of the book. Does life get any better, Karl Pilkington fans?!

To enter, simply look at the photo below and then e-mail marketing@canongate.co.uk with Karl Pilkington in the subject line, telling us what you think Karl is saying in the picture:

The funniest entries win. The competition closes on Monday 2 December and the lucky winners will be chosen at random by Canongate. 

Don’t forget to follow @welovemoaning on Twitter for all the latest updates on Karl Pilkington’s Moaning of Life book.

Good luck, everyone!