The in-progress Dudley Interchange will mean better transport links to the town - but for now this event is all about spreading the word that it's still business as usual here.
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00:00So today we are at Birdcage Walk, a summer fun day.
00:05It's a community event that is highlighting everything great about local businesses in the
00:11area. We've been asked to come and bring our wonderful animals to display and give people
00:17an opportunity to touch and hold some of them. Animal Mania is a local family business that's
00:23been running for 20 years and it's thanks to face-to-face events like this one that
00:27the company is able to continue to do what they do best to keep animals happy and healthy.
00:32We do own over 200 animals in total, so as you can imagine, feed, cleaning out,
00:39employing staff and you know even the electric now is phenomenal. So without the help of these
00:48events and doing parties and talks and getting that income in, we couldn't do what we do so
00:55and this is our life. It's a similar story for children's entertainers,
00:59Fabaloonie. It's in-person events where they're able to meet families face-to-face that keep them
01:03going. So I've been entertaining now for around 20, just over 20 years. I've been doing it since
01:08I was the age of 13. Events like this are absolutely crucial for us because we get,
01:14it's the face of the public, we get to see everybody, they get to see what we can do
01:18and for small businesses to get the opportunity to be able to, we're being seen and that's the
01:23best thing for us. And the area is set for a big boost that will hopefully come along with
01:27more support for local business owners. The in-progress Dudley interchange will mean better
01:32transport links to the town, but for now this event is all about spreading the word that it's
01:36still business as usual here. It's been really great and it's lovely to meet the community
01:42and to learn about how they get around the West Midlands. It's about a joined-up effort and just
01:47having everything in one place. It's a one-stop shop for information, for getting shopping,
01:54for having activities and family time. I'm just loving it. It's a really nice afternoon.
02:00But of course it's all about the kids. How did they enjoy the event? Well, let's find out.
02:05OMG, I absolutely love the pets. The one favourite thing is the turtle. I love the turtles. They're
02:13very cute. I holded one. Dad took a picture and it's legs are just crawling. I'm like,
02:18and I just couldn't keep still. So I just faced my fear and I holded the turtle.
02:23We really enjoyed the day and our favourite part was the animals.
02:29We saw a tarantula, a snipe, a rabbit and a skunk and a chinchilla.
02:40My favourite animal is rabbit and I just don't like the snakes.
02:46My favourite is snakes. My favourite animal is the tarantula. I would actually love
02:54to this, just to come back to Dudley. It's just wonderful here.