Memories Of Old Money
I don’t specifically remember Decimalisation-Day on the 15th February, 1971, which is fifty years ago today.
But I do have a few memories of the old currency.
- Before 1970, I served in pubs and will always remember that three bottles of Guinness at 1/8 each cost five shillings.
- I once complained to British Rail about a late train from Glasgow to Manchester and received a nine shilling postal order in return.
- I also remember the Kings Head theatre pub did everything in old money for some years, until the till broke.
You just got on with the change.
I’ve Gone Cashless
I have now setup my bank account, so that I can make small payments using from my phone, using the contactless facility.
These are a few short observations.
- The thirty pound limit may be a little too low.
- You can’t be cashless on the Blackpool tramway. I was allowed to go free!
- Some small shops still won’t accept them or apply a minimum spend. Obviously, they don’t want my business and didn’t get it.
- I never have any change for beggars. I follow TfL’s advice and give to the Whitechapel Mission, who look after the genuine homeless.
- Some estabishments have gone cashless only!
The only time I use cash, is for tips in restaurants and paying black cabs.
Does This Bank Launder Money?
I always associate Tide with a brand of washing powder.
So does the bank of the same name launder money?
Where Have All The Cash Machines Gone?
After an excellent gluten-free breakfast in Le Pain Quotidien at Monument, I thought that my wallet needed a top-up of cash.
As I wanted to catch the DLR, I walked East to Tower Gareway station.
I didn’t see a single cash machine!
It’s not that I use much cash, but I do like to pay in chain restaurants, where tips are important to staff, and for newspapers in small shops and for taxis using cash!
I know that I can use contactless payments for most of these transactions, but I prefer cash sometimes!
I don’t trust some shops having had my card details stolen by a scam in what was a franchise of a well-known chain. As I walked through the door at home an hour later, my phone rung and it was the credit card company, asking if I’d spent a lot of money in the last couple of hours in Las Vegas. They said, that someone had and they’d refused all payments and stopped the card.
So I didn’t lose a penny and I only had all the inconvenience of waiting for a new card and changing details on a few regular payments.
The shop closed a week or so later!
But I am naturally cautious and prefer not to get caught again, by a clever piece of what looks like contactless technology. Even beggars and buskers are now using it!
Hence, my continued use of cash!
I don’t particularly worry about the disappearance of cash machines, as living close to the centre of London, there are plenty about. But as on Saturday, when I walked for a kilometre in a tourist area of the City, they are getting fewer and further apart.
Many stations now have cash machines and this surely should be the norm!
But with bank branches disappearing fast, it is all part of moving towards a cashless society!
Zopa: P2P Investors Outperformed The FTSE 100 In 2018
The title of this post is the same as that of this article on Peer2PeerFinance News.
The title is a good summary of the article, which is a must-read.
The Right Attitude
Also in the diary in today’s copy of The Times, was this paragraph.
Gina Miller has just published a memoir and tell’s Spear’s magazine that opponents told her publisher that they were organising a mass burning of it.
This does not worry her. “It’s OK, they’ve got to buy the book first.” she says.
Never get angry with someone, who is paying you money, for which you are doing no extra physical or mental work!
I’m Now Following The Queen’s Example
By Legend, the Queen never carries any cash.
I’m now deliberately following a similar policy, but I only use a contactless bank card for most of my daily purchases, like my paper and food.
I’ve even still got a couple of John Lewis vouchers gathering dust in my wallet, as sincve the new M & S Food opened in Dalston, I rarely go need a Waitrose.
One thing I find with M & S Food, is that on a typical purchase the average price is two pounds per item. So to keep under the thirty pound contactless limit, I rarely buy more than fourteen items. These unusually fit easily into usable bag.
Buying my paper in M & S or a station also means I can use contactless for the purchase.
A couple of days ago, I was approached by an aggressive tin rattler for a charity I would never suppose because of some of their practices. So I waved my card and asked. “Do you do conactless?” I got a smiling “Sorry! No!”
I still use cash for three purposes.
- Restaurants with waiter/waitress service, so the tips go to the staff. It also means at busy times, in cafes I use a lot, I always get a table.
- Black cabs, when I occasionally use one.
- Personal services from local tradesmen, where the value is small. Otherwise it’s a bank transfer.
But it’s amazing, how little cash you now need.
The Smart Money’s On Isis Destroying Itself
This is the headline on a serious piece in the Times by Ed Conway, which talks about Islamic State and there adoption of gold as their currency!
If you can get a copy of yesterday’s Times read it.
There’s more details here in Wikipedia.
Ed’s piece is a fascinating article and it shows how crazy these cruel male chauvinist pigs are!
I know we have problems with our current monetary standard, but no serious central banker or politician would suggest opting for a metal based currency.
I wonder what Islamic State think of bitcoins?
Getting Rid Of Useless Foreign Currency
I travel a lot and the small change from my Icelandic holiday is annoying me, as is the monetary detritus from trips to Poland and Scandinavia.
So I have now collected it together, with all the Eurotrash with a value of less than a euro. The total weight is just under half a kilo.
But what to do with it? I searched and found this page, which has a lot of good ways to give it to charity.
I have the money, now I’ll make my choice!
Gluten Free Beer And Pizza In Berlin
For supper, I ventured into the non-touristy parts of Berlin to Yorckstrasse station to have supper at Cielo di Berlino,
It was a trip worth making.
Although it nearly did get embarrassing, as they didn’t take credit cards and much of my euros had been used up. Note that in Germany cash points don’t seem to be as numerous as they are in the UK.
The Anonymous Widower 