'All of us should be wary of losing it - it's the last bastion of privacy'

My local chippy sells melt-in-the-mouth haddock and it is always worth queuing, even when standing outside in winter. But I noticed earlier this year a sign on the side of the counter.

It asks customers to pay with cash if possible so that the business does not lose out having to pay card processing fees. From observing others buying their supper it appears many are happy to do so.

The use of cards for everything, from shopping to clicking in and out on the Metrolink , and paying in bars and restaurants is now dominant. The last time I used cash was at a wonderfully archaic car park on the North East coast which only took coinage in the machine - by luck I had three pound coins which have been nestled in a well in front of the gear stick of my car for about a year.

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