Oxford shop assistants reacted with a mixture of bafflement, panic and enthusiasm to being asked if they would accept the euro as payment, writes Philip Seton-Anderson.

In Lloyds Bank, High Street, yesterday, queues formed as people planning to travel tried to get hold of the new currency.

But when I tried to buy something in Boots, a flustered sales assistant referred me to the Chanel counter, where I was told: "I don't know, I think so. I'm not 100 per cent sure".

Virgin Shop staff were similarly confused but willing to find a solution. I struck a deal to pay for Internet time using euros at the official exchange rate -- the best deal in Oxford. Staff were unsure where to put the notes in the till.

W H Smith and Dixons turned me down flat and HMV staff thought it might work in London. The Playhouse theatre said it was "investigating" the new tender.

The Randolph Hotel agreed to take cash of any denomination, but accidentally quoted an exchange rate at 270 per cent of the euro's real value.