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Wales Online
Wales Online
National
Katie-Ann Gupwell

Couple take their daily walk dressed as Disney characters to keep children's spirits up

Meet the couple who are spending their spare time ensuring children in Cardiff still have a smile on their faces during lockdown.

Over the past week or so residents in Radyr and Morganstown may have noticed some very unusual sightings in the areas in the form of some of our most-loved Disney characters.

That's because a very generous couple have been using their daily exercise to walk the streets dressed up to make sure the children living in the area are still keeping their spirits high despite the coronavirus outbreak.

Adrian Currie, 31, and his partner Alex Currie, 32, run an entertainment business called Party Wales but since lockdown measures came in they haven't been able to work.

Minnie Mouse walks around Radyr to bring some cheer during lockdown (Mark Lewis)

Instead of laying around and letting their equipment go to waste they thought they'd make the most of it and do something to cheer people up.

Adrian said: "Our business is based in Radyr but for obvious reasons business is zero. But we started to think about what we could do.

"The kids in the local area are struggling. The young kids don't know what's going on. It's very sad for the little ones.

"I thought: 'Well, I have some mascots upstairs so why not use them and go around and wave to the kids and children up the streets?' So we did."

Adrian said they made checks with the police and ensured everything was safe to go ahead with the plan as long as social distancing guidelines were followed.

Once they had the get-go they put their plan into action. Ever since they have been going around the areas dressed up.

So far Mickey Mouse has been seen quite a bit but Minnie Mouse has now taken over so Mickey can have a well-deserved Easter break. It's thought other favourite characters will also make appearances soon.

A few passersby stop for a wave (Mark Lewis)
Minnie stops to wave to as many little ones as possible (Mark Lewis)

"People are saying how much it has lifted their spirits," said Adrian. "So this is what we are doing. Kids love it and it cheers them up. They know they are going to get a wave.

"We just want to bring a smile to the kids' faces. It's basically a feel-good thing to raise people's spirits.

"We have some 74-year-olds saying it has raised their spirits because they weren't expecting it."

Since the pair started walking the streets of Cardiff in fancy dress people have been so grateful that residents set up a fundraising page for the couple.

Adrian said he thinks it was to help their business get back on its feet when people return to work but the couple have decided to donate whatever is raised to a very worthy cause.

Isabelle White, three, waits for Minnie Mouse while clutching her cuddly toy (Mark Lewis)
People have been waiting on their doorsteps to see their favourite characters (Mark Lewis)

He added: "Regarding the GoFundMe page set up for us as a thank you from the community we have decided to use the funds to support local care facilities and hospitals with much-needed essentials."

The Disney parade usually starts at around 5pm and the couple post a schedule on Facebook so residents know what to expect every evening.

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