Bakery Refused to Sell WW2 Pensioner Bread Because She Only Had ‘Dirty’ Cash

Senior woman cutting freshly baked bread on the wooden board on the rural kitchen table. T
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Victoria Friedman

A 94-year-old woman who lived through World War Two was denied a loaf of bread because she could only pay in cash.

Edna Dalchin, a former hosiery worker who lives in the Basford suburb of Nottingham, has never had a bank card and pays for all of her groceries with hard currency. When Mrs Dalchin went to Birds bakery in the nearby village of Arnold, she was told to put her food back because they are not accepting “dirty” cash due to the coronavirus pandemic.

“I went into Birds because I wanted a loaf of bread and some potted meat. She said to me ‘have you got a card?’ I did not know what she was on about. I said ‘Oh I have never used a card in my life. I always pay the old fashioned way, which is how I was brought up,” the 94-year-old told the Nottingham Post on Tuesday.

Ms Dalchin continued: “I felt like I was being treated like a small child and being talked down too. None of the other shops have ever refused my money.

“There is a virus, I understand that, but a lot of elderly people do not use cards and are not into that technology.”

Another senior citizen, 86-year-old Glynis Kirk, was also denied service because she would not use her bank card for such a small purchase. Mrs Kirk, an acquaintance of Mrs Dalchin, said it was “disgusting” to treat her nonagenarian friend in that fashion.

Lisa Clarke, the manager of Birds, told the regional newspaper: “One of the arrangements is we could open if it is card only and because cash is dirty.

“With the coronavirus and pandemic, they want to minimise the risk to ourselves and customers.”

Major supermarkets continue to accept cash payments.

Older Britons have borne the brunt of coronavirus restrictions, with many effectively imprisoned in their care homes to protect them from the Chinese virus after the country went into lockdown in March.

Social care leaders feared that prolonged isolation from their family could affect their mental health, with many grandparents saying they “miss the hugs” from their grandchildren. Just three weeks ago, lockdown restrictions were lifted, recommending that older Britons can visit their families again.

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