Hello. Happy to see you back,
Money is always an interesting subject, isn’t it?
First of all: They use Pounds in the UK, symbol is £. They do not use Euros, symbol is €. Although I’m told that the Euro can be used and is accepted in some big stores in England. I have never seen this.
There are Scottish pounds, English pounds and Irish pounds. I hear that Wales does not print their own money. ( I’m going to Wales in December and I can verify that information.) These are all countries of the United Kingdom and the pounds are all used everywhere, more or less.
Republic of Ireland is an independent country and uses the Euro. Capital of Northern Ireland is Belfast. Capital of Republic of Ireland is Dublin. (I just added that because I never can keep it straight. )
If you came to the UK before 2017 and have some pounds from that trip, you will not be able to use them. As of March 1, 2018, those older notes and coins became illegal. I did not know that. I had about £30 with me.
Imagine my surprise when I tried to pay with them and they were refused and I was told that they were no longer legal, but that I could exchange them at a bank. There is no bank in Cullen, where I live, although a mobile bank does some through from time to time.
A few years ago all the banks decided that it just wasn’t profitable to have branch banks in the small towns, and closed all of them. Cullen has a population of 1,327 (1,329 if you count Anne and me.) So it qualified as too small for a bank. So I went to the big city.
“Do you have an account here?”, they asked. Well, no, of course I don’t have an account with any Scottish bank. “So sorry.” They would only exchange the money for account holders. They needed a “paper trail.”
So, I went to a bank that has a partnership with my bank in the US and asked , “Can you exchange my old money?”
“Do you have an account here?” they asked. Same answer, except that I explained about my US bank and this bank having a partnership. I was told that was only to use the ATM without additional fees. “So sorry.”
“Do you know anyone with a bank account in a Scottish bank?”
Probably. But, since you closed all the branches in the small towns, that won’t do me any good, would it? “Oh, probably not. So sorry.”
Suddenly, I put out my hand and introduced myself. “Hi”, I said. “My name is Linda Smalley.” 
He shook my hand and told me his name. I asked, “Do you have an account here in this bank?” I asked. He said that he did. I then ventured, “Well, I know you. Can you help me to get my money exchanged?”
He started to laugh and said of course he could do that. I told him not to do it if he would get into any trouble. “No trouble at all.”
So, I got £30 of nice, new, usable money.
Sometimes you just have to be creative.
I hope all your money problems are as easily solved as mine.
FYI: Current coins are: 1 penny, 2 pence, 5 pence, 10 pence, 20 pence, 50 pence, 1 pound, and 2 pounds. (Pennies and pence are sometimes referred to a pee. As in 1 pound 50 Pee)
Current bank notes are: The 5 pound note, the 10 pound note, the 20 pound note and the 50 pound note.
I’m not even going to try shillings, bob, quid (which I think is a pound), Fiver (I think is a £5 note) and all the other “money” words I hear. It’s just too much for me.
See you next time.