The euro has arrived - but can you spend it in York?

The Evening Press met with a rather bemused reaction when he went euro-shopping in the city centre...

WELL we can accept it - but we'd rather not!

Sorry, mate - not yet.

We aren't geared up for it yet.

These are just three of the reactions with which I was greeted by sales assistants in city centre stores when I tried to spend some crisp new euro notes.

I was finding out whether York, one of Britain's biggest tourist destinations, was ready to accept its European visitors' new currency.

I began my euro-odyssey by trying to get my hands on a couple of the new notes. No luck at my first port of call, Thomas Cook's bureau de change in Nessgate, where they were expecting their first delivery of euros some hours later.

I fared better at Thomas Cook's bureau in the HSBC bank in Parliament Street, where staff said I was only one in a stream of customers asking for the new notes - mostly, apparently, out of curiosity.

I wanted to change a British tenner into euros. After being charged £1 commission, I ended up with 15 euros in exchange for £10.68. They were distinctly Monopoly-sized, but crisp and full of anti-counterfeiting marks.

I headed first for Marks & Spencer nearby, where two tills on the first and third floor were meant to have been specially converted to take euros.

But on arrival at a till I was diverted to the bureau de change on the top floor, where I was told my euros could be converted back into pounds, which I could then spend in the store. Querying this, I was told there was a "slight hiccup in the system."

I headed for bustling Coney Street, and tried my notes out at some of the biggest high street names - with little more joy ...

Boots: "We aren't accepting them at this stage, I'm afraid."

WH Smith: "No, sorry we don't."

Woolworth: "Sorry, no."

HMV: "No, sorry, mate."

Then: bingo at BHS - or should that be EHS (European Home Stores)? They weren't sure at first, but then a manager was summoned and she gave the OK.

Buying some stickers for £1.50, I handed over my euro-fiver. The till crunched some numbers and I got back my change in sterling.

I met with a mixed response as I visited more outlets.

I didn't even attempt the market, suspecting I might be accused of taking the mickey.

At Dixons, an assistant said they could accept euros, but would prefer it if they didn't.

Browns had not yet geared up to the euro, Virgin Megastore proudly said their tills had just been adapted to take euros and Borders said they would happily take the note - even though their tills had not yet been converted. Again the change came in sterling.

It's early days, and there were very few foreign visitors in York's bitterly cold streets yesterday.

But one has to hope the city centre gets its act together before the hordes of tourists arrive in the spring.

Updated: 09:52 Thursday, January 03, 2002