Karen's gift from an Osmond

MOTHER-of-two Karen Muxworthy has been a dedicated fan of the Osmonds since she was six years old and has been in her element since Donny Osmond visited this country last week.

She has been such a loyal fan over the years that she now knows Donny and Jimmy Osmond personally and was delighted to be invited to watch Donny recording a show broadcast on Wednesday 'The Way They Were , where Donny and Lulu were interviewed by Cliff Richard.

Karen (36), who lives on the Pipers Field estate in Uckfield, has met all members of the famous family and been to the home in Utah of parents Olive and George Osmond.

She says she is used to being ribbed about her interest in the family but it is her form of escapism. 'My husband thinks I m barking and the children groan everytime they know an Osmond is appearing on television because they have to keep quiet while I watch.

'Some people say I must be stuck in the 70s, but I m not. I have just grown up with the Osmonds. I am one of many fans who have kept in touch with them. They have not had much exposure in this county for many years but I have collected about 90 Osmond albums altogether with more than half in CDs so that shows how much they have done over the years.

Jimmy Osmond gave Karen a soft toy bear he designed to be raffled at the Harlands School fair and the lucky winner was Year 2 teacher Mrs Denise Woodhouse who has decided her Hummy Bear should be the class mascot.

Jimmy also gave two of the bears to Karen for her children as a thank you when she created a web site personal to him. Similar information has since been incorporated into the Osmonds own site, osmond.com.

She said part of the attraction of the Osmonds was that they were such good people. 'They really are genuinely nice, caring people who go out of the way for their fans. I admire the way they have stuck by their values. It is very easy for people in the entertainment industry to put on a front but having known the Osmonds over the years I can say it isn t a front. They are genuinely good people.