Cash is king! Well, I certainly think it is. No, I’m not part of the tin hat brigade, but I do worry about the ‘doing away’ with cash.

I have no objection to those that choose to use their cards for everything. One tap and it’s done… yes, I know.

But I don’t want to do it - I actually like having cash in my purse. I like the fact that I know exactly how much money I have and exactly how much I’ve spent.

I have spoken to several people on this matter, some prefer to just tap at the machine, but quite a few people - younger ones too - told me that they like to keep a check on just how much they are spending.

It’s so easy to just tap your card on the machine, without realising just how much you are spending.

Have you ever wondered just how much the average small business gets charged by the bank for every card transaction?

If your answer’s a ‘no’, well, let me tell you. Processing fees can range from 1.5 per cent to 3.5 per cent typically but in some cases it can be as high as 6 per cent per sale.

Just imagine how much that actually costs all those small businesses, that can’t afford those charges. And in the end they will have no choice but to close down.

Although I have noticed that more and more small businesses are asking for cash only, and good for them, they have to protect their business.

We all know that a lot of supermarkets are trying to get us to use self-service tills, well guess what? Yes, I won’t use them either. I want to see a face in front of me at the check-outs. I want to make small talk about the price of toilet rolls etc - that self-service machine won’t ask how I’m doing or what a certain food is like.

And think of this: what about all of those people that live alone. From day to day, they never speak to another human being but on one day, once a week they travel to the supermarket for their weekly shop and make eye contact and speak to the check-out assistant.

That one small action is their only lifeline to communication with another person.

I honestly will queue down the aisle with one item than use a self-service check-out.

I was informed the other day that the petrol pumps at the Asda are now all cashless. Okay, no problem, I shall give my money to the ones that still take cash…

But it makes me so flaming angry And the one that I couldn’t get over was one of the ice cream vans outside Newmillerdam has actually gone cashless.

Yep, I won’t be getting an ice cream there again. I’m guessing that by now you can see a pattern forming with me, and, yes, I probably will be one of only a few wandering around with change jingling in my pocket, but I honestly don’t care.

Just imagine a place with no cash… our children will never experience the joy of the tooth fairy coming.

There will be no putting money inside birthday cards. No giving someone who is busking or the homeless guy a couple of quid and no carol singers, and the list could go on.

So, whether you are in favour of card payments or cash, it’s always nice to have the choice.