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What were you doing?

(57 Posts)
Ijustwantpeace2020 Sun 14-Feb-21 16:34:40

What were you doing when decimalisation came in on 15th February 1971? I was 16 and in my first job at Peter Robinson on Oxford Circus. We had special training to get to grips with the “new money”.

annodomini Mon 15-Feb-21 10:42:30

Living in a rented cottage in Devon, after returning from Kenya in the middle of winter. My H had a temporary job in a school and I was 7 months pregnant. On that memorable day I was in Exeter buying nappies in Debenhams, I think, and that was the first cheque I wrote in decimal currency.

Grandma70s Mon 15-Feb-21 10:53:10

I was pregnant with first child. As I have said on another thread, my mother was very insulted by media comments that the change was going to be very difficult for pensioners (she was one), poor old things with their feeble brains. Needless to say she was quite able to cope!

mrshat Mon 15-Feb-21 16:49:29

Working! We had been given training on the 'new money' as had dealings with finance.

JackyB Mon 15-Feb-21 18:13:16

I wrote a long post on this thread but I've gone through it again twice and can't find it. So here we go again. (I hope there aren't 2 threads on the subject and I'm inadvertently posting the same thing twice...)

I was a Saturday girl in a department store so I missed out on the training that the rest of the staff had as that was on quieter days during the week.

I didn't have any trouble with it. I was doing A level maths and this was simple arithmetic.

However, I left the country for good in 1973 when decimal currency was still relatively new, so I still think of it as "new money" and have to look carefully at the coins as if I were a foreigner.

It's the same here, though. I still think of Euros as "new money" although we changed from the Deutschmark 20 years ago. I still have to check change carefully as the 2 €c and 5 €c are easily confused.

seacliff Mon 15-Feb-21 18:20:05

I was working in my first job in the city of London. We had some training beforehand and I just remember thinking the new coins were like toy money. I still miss half a crowns. If I got one as a treat from my Uncle I felt rich.

Conan Mon 15-Feb-21 18:22:38

I was 16 and working in a coal merchants office. Spent a lot of time explaining to old people this new system. Actually they were the age I am now, and I don't consider myself old, but of course to a 16 year old in 1971........ ?