-- Newspaper and Website Reviews
WORKING WITH CHILDREN AND ANIMALS
The Sunday Post
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WORKING WITH CHILDREN AND ANIMALS
Daily Express
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WORKING WITH CHILDREN AND ANIMALS
The Weekly News
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WORKING WITH CHILDREN AND ANIMALS
By Ephraim Hardcastle
Actress Liza Goddard explains the collapse of her second marriage to Seventies pop star Alvin Stardust, pictured, in her forthcoming autobiography. She writes: ‘I suppose the final straw was when he discovered God – on a train to Waterloo. He was converted by a group of people he had shared a carriage with – the cleaner got on board and found them all kneeling on the floor praying to God. He came home that day and announced, “I’ve found God”. It was the final nail in our coffin.’
Daily Mail
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WORKING WITH CHILDREN AND ANIMALS
Romford Recorder
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LIZA GODDARD: THAT FLUFFY DIZZY BLONDE
SHE'S worked with kangaroos and dogs, married Dr Who and Alvin Stardust and beaten breast cancer. Now actress Liza Goddard has written her autobiography and tells all about her life and career...
WHEN the teenage Liza Goddard was cast in Skippy the Bush Kangaroo, the unforgettable Australian children’s series of the late Sixties, she once had to film a scene where she spent hours immersed in shark-infested waters and finished up in hospital for a week suffering from exposure.
The cast also had to contend with venomous snakes – spotting one off-camera was no excuse to stop filming – while a boa constrictor once half-strangled the lead child actor in mid-scene.
And there was never just one “Skippy”, but about 20. They were unlovable animals who pooed all over the set and had to be held by their tails by an out-of-shot prop man to stop them bouncing away during takes.
Don’t you love a good luvvie memoir? Liza’s new book Working With Children And Animals tells a story of a theatre and small-screen career spanning five decades and two hemispheres, plus marriages to Dr Who actor Colin Baker and glam-rock pop star Alvin Stardust and a battle with breast cancer.
As Liza observes, lots of old TV shows are now available again on DVD – “except for the stuff I have been in”. The BBC and ITV used to tape over old programmes such as Take Three Girls, the groundbreaking flat-share drama in which she starred when she returned to Britain; the Seventies family drama The Brother or the sitcoms Yes, Honestly and Pig In The Middle.
That means she’s less than a household name nowadays. But her fluffy blonde persona should be familiar to any viewer over the age of about 25, not least with her 150 episodes as a team member on Give Us A Clue and a decade-long stint in the children’s drama Woof! SHE was born in the West Midlands in 1950 to a mother with a failed marriage under her belt who claimed also to have had an affair with a Russian prince.
Liza describes her as a crashing snob with “an evil side” who refused to praise any of her achievements. Meanwhile she adored her father, an Oxford graduate who had reluctantly assisted in the defence of Nazi war criminals at Nuremberg and then ended up as a floor manager at the BBC.
He got Liza her first walk-on TV role in Jesus of Nazareth. She says she was about six – but since the show was made in 1953 she must actually have been three.
When she was 15 her father got a job in Australia and the family relocated to a fl at above a brothel in Sydney’s red-light district.
Liza began going to parties hosted by the city’s husband-and-wife luvvies-inchief, John McCallum and Googie Withers, where she resisted the advances of a young Italian tenor called Luciano Pavarotti.
When McCallum came up with the idea for Skippy, she was signed up for six episodes as the teenage daughter of a park ranger – and stayed for 92. She earned enough to travel back to Britain alone, first class all the way, on the Trans-Siberian Express.
By the time she arrived, London was swinging and she was cast in Take Three Girls, a show that captured the spirit of the times by focusing on three independent young women sharing a fl at. Its success led to years of non-stop TV and theatre work. Along the way she had a son, Thom, by a man she refuses to name and had a brief but disastrous union with Baker, whom she met on The Brothers.
“From start to finish we were together for about two years,” she says. “Our parting was fairly acrimonious and it was a long time before we started talking again.”
She met her second husband when they were both involved in a This Is Your Life show dedicated to Michael Aspel (before he became the programme’s host).
Stardust moved in a few months later, they had a daughter, Sophie, the following year, and three months after that they married.
Tragedy nearly struck when their nanny slipped and dropped Sophie down stairs, fracturing her skull in four places. Fortunately the baby made a full recovery but Liza remains furious at media suggestions – taken seriously by social services – that Alvin had thrown Sophie.
He wasn’t even in the house when it happened. She also successfully sued the now defunct News of the World for claiming that she and John Nettles, with whom she co-starred in Bergerac, were having an affair.
They had an instant chemistry, she says – “but that was all it ever was – an on-screen relationship”. Aside from her children’s TV appearances, the small-screen work gradually dried up but she filled the gap with theatre.
Playwright Alan Ayckbourn and master farceur Ray Cooney both wrote a number of roles for her – the latter even penning parts in two successive plays for her golden retriever Gertrude. One night when Liza was struck down with flu and replaced by her understudy, the theatre sent a taxi to her home just to pick up the dog.
HER marriage to Stardust lasted longer than her first one but was equally illfated. “I suppose the final nail in our coffin was when he discovered God – on a train to Waterloo,” she writes.
“He was converted by a group of people he had shared a carriage with – the cleaners got on board and found them all kneeling on the floor praying.”
But in the Nineties she found happiness with her third husband, wildlife film-maker David Cobham, who produced and directed the celebrated Tarka The Otter.
They met when she was cast in his 13-part wildlife adventure Brendon Chase. During the filming of one episode a bear escaped and rampaged through the New Forest, only avoiding being shot when it decided to have a nap under a tree.
When cancer was detected, she had a double mastectomy and reconstruction in 2000 – and six months later was back on stage.
She is full of praise for her surgeon and for the women seeking breast enlargements who have inadvertently helped her. “It is thanks to the women who want bigger boobs that these implant techniques have improved so dramatically,” she says.
She and her husband now live in Norfolk, where she has recently discovered shamanism – a belief system that equally reveres every living creature, including trees and plants – and wants to train as a healer.
“Am I really that fluffy, dizzy blonde that I have been asked to play so many times?” she asks.
“No. I suppose that I would describe myself as being quite serious, which may sound odd when you know how much comedy work I have done. But maybe that is why I am drawn to it. Perhaps it is because it gives me some balance.”
To order Working With Children And Animals by Liza Goddard, at £15.99 with free UK delivery, send a cheque or PO payable to Express Bookshop to: Goddard Offer, PO Box 200, Falmouth TR11 4WJ or call 0871 988 8367 (calls cost 10p per minute from UK landlines) or buy online at http://www.expressbookshop.com
Daily Express
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WORKING WITH CHILDREN AND ANIMALS
Your CAT Magazine
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WORKING WITH CHILDREN AND ANIMALS
The Brit (Madeira Newspaper)
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WORKING WITH CHILDREN AND ANIMALS
S Magazine (Sunday Express Magazine)
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WORKING WITH CHILDREN AND ANIMALS
King's Lynn Magazine
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LIZA GODDARD SIGNING NEW AUTOBIOGRAPHY IN NORWICH
Actress Liza Goddard will be signing books and discussing her new autobiography in Norwich this weekend.
Ms Goddard, who lives in Norfolk, will be signing her new book Working with Children and Animals: The Autobiography of Liza Goddard at Waterstone’s on Castle Street from 11am on Saturday.
She has starred in everything from Midsomer Murders to Dr Who, as well as John Nettles’ nemesis in the detective series Bergerac. She will also be signing at Waterstone’s, Royal Arcade, on September 10. For tickets call 01603 767292.
Norwich Evening News
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WORKING WITH CHILDREN AND ANIMALS
The Mail On Sunday
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An electrifying journey through the life of an accomplished star of stage and screen. Don't miss it.
Mike Hallowell, The Shields Gazette
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WORKING WITH CHILDREN AND ANIMALS
Daily Mail (Weekend Magazine)
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WORKING WITH CHILDREN AND ANIMALS
Radio Times Magazine
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WORKING WITH CHILDREN AND ANIMALS
Choice Magazine
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WORKING WITH CHILDREN AND ANIMALS
Belfast Telegraph
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WORKING WITH CHILDREN AND ANIMALS
Farnham Herald
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WORKING WITH CHILDREN AND ANIMALS
Pockington Post
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WORKING WITH CHILDREN AND ANIMALS
Spalding Guardian
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WORKING WITH CHILDREN AND ANIMALS
Great Yarmouth Mercury
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Liza Goddard has rightly been called, “one of Britain’s most gifted actors” and is fondly remembered by her fans for her role as Clancy Merrick in the iconic children’s TV series Skippy the Bush Kangaroo. Clancy Merrick was, as I recall, my first love, but my efforts to woo her were hampered by the fact that a) she was a fictional character, b) she lived in Australia and c) as a lovesick ten year-old I had neither the money nor the freedom to fly there and buy her chocolates.
The series is still aired worldwide from Iran (seriously) to Zanzibar, and Liza Goddard has gone on to become a national treasure. However, her love of stage and screen is something she shares equally with her passion for animals. She actively works with a number of charities, including the RSPCA, and the Hawk and Owl Trust, of which she served as President until recently.
Liza recently finished a long stint at the Stephen Joseph Theatre in Scarborough, playing Kathryn in Alan Ayckbourn’s comedy Life of Riley, and is currently taking a well-earned rest. Although “rest” doesn’t really cut it, as her home also plays host to animals great and small which she looks after tirelessly when she isn’t acting.
My interview with Liza had to wait until she’d popped out to “feed and tuck my horse in for the night”, which impressed me. Despite her celebrity status, she hasn’t lost sight of life’s priorities, and I’d be the first to agree that the happiness of animals takes precedence over chatting with newspaper columnists.
I asked Liza what changes she’d noted in children’s TV over the years, and her answer was both instant and unequivocal: “They just don’t do quality children’s drama like they used to”. She takes a dim view of the substitution of good drama with cheaply-produced time-fillers, some of which pander to the sexualisation of children and are hardly educational.
As Liza prepared a meal for the imminent arrival of her daughter – she’s an accomplished cook with a distinct preference for locally-sourced produce – I asked her what proved, for me, to be the acme of our chat; had she ever seen a ghost? “I certainly have”, she replied, which set my ticker racing to an almost supernatural degree. Liza has an almost eidetic memory for detail, and I was not to be disappointed when she told me of her experience.
“I actually saw a ghost at the Theatre Royal at Bath many years ago. I was appearing in a matinee. I was on stage with Christopher Timothy and happened to glance up at one of the boxes. It was the top box, and I thought, ‘That’s odd, you don’t normally see people sitting up there’. I could see a woman, dressed in grey, and later I asked who she was. Everyone got terribly excited and said, ‘Oh, that’s the lady! You’ve seen her!’
“The box was locked – no one could get in - and I’d actually seen Juliana Popjoy, the mistress of Beau Nash. She frequented the theatre after his death”.
Beau Nash was an 18th century dandy and gambler who died in 1761, so there could be little doubt that his mistress was deceased too; yet many people claim to have seen her ghost in the same “top box” where Liza Goddard espied her some years ago.
Liza Goddard hasn’t slowed down during her distinguished career, and doesn’t plan to. She has plays to enrich and TV shows to enliven with her unrivalled ability to portray characters with uncanny realism. She also has animals to nurture and wildlife to fight for. Someday, no doubt, she’ll be back on stage at the Theatre Royal, Bath. Perhaps the shade of Mrs. Popjoy will be there too, in the top box, watching...
* Liza Goddard’s autobiography, written with Derek Clements and entitled Liza Goddard – Working With Children & Animals, is available from Apex Publishing and on-line at Amazon.co.uk, priced at £15.99 (hardback)
The Shields Gazette
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WORKING WITH CHILDREN AND ANIMALS
Tenby Observer
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WORKING WITH CHILDREN AND ANIMALS
Suffolk and Norfolk Life Magazine
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WORKING WITH CHILDREN AND ANIMALS
Royal Tunbridge Wells Exchange Living Magazine
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WORKING WITH CHILDREN AND ANIMALS
Woman's Day Magazine (Australian Magazine)
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WORKING WITH CHILDREN AND ANIMALS
Mature Times
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WORKING WITH CHILDREN AND ANIMALS
Farnham Herald
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WORKING WITH CHILDREN AND ANIMALS
Bury Free Press
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WORKING WITH CHILDREN AND ANIMALS
Lynn News
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RECORD-BREAKING DAY FOR WAYLAND SHOW
There was a record-breaking day for the Wayland Agricultural Show today (Sunday) as an unprecedented crowd filed through the gates for a taste of the country.
The event near Watton underlined its reputation as one of the country’s fastest-growing traditional shows as it brought an attendance of 15,000 in its 138th year – about 50pc higher than 2010’s turnout.
The success of this year’s show was also highlighted by record livestock entries, a doubling in the size of the food hall for Norfolk and Suffolk producers, and the installation of a grandstand for spectators to watch events in the main ring.
The programme included displays by gundogs, vintage tractors and birds of prey, while the Knights of the Damned gave a dazzling demonstration of medieval jousting and horsemanship.
Other familiar attractions included the Fur and Feather tent, clay-shooting, arts and crafts, classic cars and miniature traction engines.
Kevin Bowes, president of the Wayland Agricultural Society, said: “It has been an outstanding day, and we have had 50pc more people through the gates than ever before. I feel absolutely unreal. I think people realise now what we are doing, and that we have something here that is a bit special.
“We are always trying to improve it. Walking around the show and speaking to people, you realise it has got that feel-good factor. From our point of view it is all about bringing people together to understand the countryside and where their food comes from. It is a rural show, and a family show where people can bring their children to see and touch these animals.”
Mr Bowes paid tribute to the 40-strong committee who volunteered their time to bring the show together.
“In the last 12 months we have given £26,000 to local charities and not a single penny is taken out by any member,” he said. “It is an amazing team of people and I am very, very proud of the phenomenal job they have done.”
The show’s lifestyle marquee featured cookery demonstrations by Kiwi chef and north Norfolk restaurateur Chris Coubrough, and a book signing by actress Liza Goddard.
The president’s trophy for the best trade stand went to Heygate Farms, near Swaffham, who were exhibiting their Norfolk Peer potatoes.
And the judges of all the livestock classes combined to declare a “Champion of Champions” – a fun category, where the winners of all animal types were judged against each other.
The title was won by a Limousin heifer named Withersdale Empress, owned by D C Wharton.
Eastern Daily Press
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LIZA GODDARD NORWICH BOOK SIGNING UPDATE
Earlier this week it was stated that Liza Goddard would be signing books and discussing her new autobiography in Norwich this weekend.
This was incorrect. Ms Goddard, who lives in Norfolk, will actually be signing her new book Working with Children and Animals: The Autobiography of Liza Goddard at Waterstone’s on Castle Street from 11am next Saturday.
The actress, who is perhaps best known for her role in Dr Who, will also be signing at Waterstone’s, Royal Arcade, on September 10. We apologise for any inconvenience caused by the mistake. For tickets call 01603 767292.
Norwich Evening News
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WORKING WITH CHILDREN AND ANIMALS
Brentwood Recorder
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-- Radio and TV
28 July 2011 - Liza Goddard was interviewed on BBC Radio York 103.7 FM. Liza answered questions about her book 'Working With Children and Animals'.
BBC Radio York 103.7 FM
28 July 2011 - Liza Goddard was interviewed on BBC Radio Lancashire 95.5 FM. Liza answered questions about her book 'Working With Children and Animals'.
BBC Radio Lancashire 95.5 FM
29 July 2011 - Liza Goddard was interviewed on Leith 98.8 FM. Liza answered questions about her book 'Working With Children and Animals'.
Leith 98.8 FM
29 July 2011 - Liza Goddard was interviewed on BBC Radio Essex 103.5 & 95.3 FM. Liza answered questions about her book 'Working With Children and Animals'.
BBC Radio Essex 103.5 & 95.3 FM
31 July 2011 - Liza Goddard was interviewed on BBC Radio Kent 96.7 FM. Liza answered questions about her book 'Working With Children and Animals'.
BBC Radio Kent 96.7 FM
31 July 2011 - Liza Goddard was interviewed on Radio Six International. Liza answered questions about her book 'Working With Children and Animals'.
Radio Six International
1 August 2011 - Liza Goddard was interviewed on BBC Radio Derbyshire 104.5 FM. Liza answered questions about her book 'Working With Children and Animals'.
BBC Radio Derbyshire 104.5 FM
1 August 2011 - Liza Goddard was interviewed on BBC Radio Coventry & Warwickshire 94.8 FM. Liza answered questions about her book 'Working With Children and Animals'.
BBC Radio Coventry & Warwickshire 94.8 FM
1 August 2011 - Liza Goddard was interviewed on Wolverhampton City Radio 101.8 FM. Liza answered questions about her book 'Working With Children and Animals'.
Wolverhampton City Radio 101.8 FM
2 August 2011 - Liza Goddard was interviewed on All 96.9 FM. Liza answered questions about her book 'Working With Children and Animals'.
All 96.9 FM
3 August 2011 - Liza Goddard was interviewed on BBC Radio Sussex 104 FM. Liza answered questions about her book 'Working With Children and Animals'.
BBC Radio Sussex 104 FM
3 August 2011 - Liza Goddard was interviewed on BBC Radio Stoke 94.6 FM. Liza answered questions about her book 'Working With Children and Animals'.
BBC Radio Stoke 94.6 FM
5 August 2011 - Liza Goddard was interviewed on BBC Radio Devon 103.4 FM. Liza answered questions about her book 'Working With Children and Animals'.
BBC Radio Devon 103.4 FM
6 August 2011 - Liza Goddard was interviewed on BBC Radio 4. Liza answered questions about her book 'Working With Children and Animals'. Liza was interviewed by Clive Anderson.
BBC Radio 4
8 August 2011 - Liza Goddard was interviewed on Express 93.7 FM. Liza answered questions about her book 'Working With Children and Animals'.
Express 93.7 FM
9 August 2011 - Liza Goddard was interviewed on Pulse 98.4 FM. Liza answered questions about her book 'Working With Children and Animals'.
Pulse 98.4 FM
15 August 2011 - Liza Goddard was interviewed on BBC Radio Norfolk 95.1 FM. Liza answered questions about her book 'Working With Children and Animals'.
BBC Radio Norfolk 95.1 FM
7 September 2011 - Liza Goddard was interviewed on BBC Radio Lincolnshire 94.9 FM. Liza answered questions about her book 'Working With Children and Animals'.
BBC Radio Lincolnshire 94.9 FM
18 August 2011 - Liza Goddard was interviewed on BBC Radio London 94.9 FM. Liza answered questions about her book 'Working With Children and Animals'.
BBC Radio London 94.9 FM
19 November 2013 - Liza Goddard was interviewed on Talk Radio Europe. Liza answered questions about her book 'Working With Children and Animals'.
Talk Radio Europe
For me, Liza Goddard was a 70s and 80s UK TV sweetheart. Her “Bubbly/Dizzy Blond” character in “Pig in the Middle” as Nellie Bligh and her appearances in “The Brothers” and “Dr Who” were never missed and of course who could forget “Skippy”. In her new Autobiography “Being LiZa” we get to see behind the roles and career and get a very personnel “insight” into her fight overcoming cancer and her protective, caring side looking after sick animals. This book is bound to be a best seller and is a must for all her fans.
Mark Le-Leivre, Bristol Community Radio 93.2 FM (Presenter)
A really lovely read from start to finish. Liza writes exceptionally well - thoughtfully, always with the reader in mind.
As the book chugs on so nicely, Liza begins to refer back; briefly to: summarise and so link up (relevant) previous comments or stories. By doing so, gives a helpful, constant, consistent flow.
However, if one reads through several chapters at a sitting, thus retaining the plot, these précis’s can perhaps start to get a little bit repetitive.
Liza’s attractive personality shines through, but I’m not sure we get much below the waterline.
So it’s maybe worth recording that, to this reader, on serious matters Liza seems to skip through , but this may be as she’s such a decent sort and recriminations have no place in her life.
Liza gets on with most people, if not everyone, and simply gets on with life (on the evidence here).
Nice touches include all her admissions of past mistakes and lessons learned. She reasons out rather than goes to great lengths to explain, but why should she?
She made me smile several times with her funny stories, often involving animals! I knew nothing of the acting world, but after reading , now have a much better grasp, of what happens on stage or off. So wonderful insights.
Hard work and good fortune have certainly played a part in her life, and Liza is most definitely modest about her achievements.
I’m old enough to have watched The Brothers on TV. So I really enjoyed hearing Liza’s thoughts on this impressive and gripping haulage soap, and now get the connection with Colin Baker!
Liza gives out much love and teaching with every word, which only leaves me wanting to get closer, and wanting more!
Perhaps there’s another book in this charming and very attractive lady?
Liza winks and twinkles and dances beautifully.
It was her true story that made me dream! 10/10.
Mark Watkins, Blast 1386
-- Book Signings and Events
7 August 2011 - Liza Goddard signed copies of her book 'Working With Children and Animals' at The Wayland Show.
The Wayland Show
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20 August 2011 - Liza Goddard signed copies of her book 'Working With Children and Animals' at Waterstone's, Castle Street, Norwich.
Waterstone's, Castle Street, Norwich
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25 August 2011 - Liza Goddard signed copies of her book 'Working With Children and Animals' at Waterstone's, Scarborough.
Waterstone's, Scarborough
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27 August 2011 - Liza Goddard signed copies of her book 'Working With Children and Animals' at Waterstone's, Lowestoft.
Waterstone's, Lowestoft
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3 September 2011 - Liza Goddard signed copies of her book 'Working With Children and Animals' at Waterstone's, Butter Market, Bury St. Edmunds.
Waterstone's, Butter Market, Bury St. Edmunds
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5 September 2011 - Liza Goddard signed copies of her book 'Working With Children and Animals' at Royal Crescent Hotel, Bath.
Royal Crescent Hotel, Bath
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6 September 2011 - Liza Goddard signed copies of her book 'Working With Children and Animals' at Royal Crescent Hotel, Bath.
Royal Crescent Hotel, Bath
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8 September 2011 - Liza Goddard signed copies of her book 'Working With Children and Animals' at Bookmark, Spalding.
Bookmark, Spalding
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17 September 2011 - Liza Goddard signed copies of her book 'Working With Children and Animals' at Waterstone's, Kings Lynn.
Waterstone's, Kings Lynn
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