Back in the 1980s I recall attending an event at a restaurant near Bradford where, at the end of the evening, I was quite surprised to find the owners did not accept cash. It seemed odd at the time as not everyone had debit and credit cards in those days.

But now many young people - in fact most under 30s - rarely carry cash at all and do all their transactions via card or mobile phone.

So perhaps we should not be surprised to find Lakes Parish Council has decided to convert two more of its public toilets to contactless payment only.

There are some concerns this could catch out some users. But the council says the great majority of people now use contactless as their primary means of payment for most things and that use of contactless allowed it to keep some toilets open during the pandemic.

We are likely to become even more of a cashless society in years to come and this is just another small step in that inevitable journey as times change.

On a totally different tack, full credit to all those hardy individuals who have undertaken gruelling challenges to raise cash for charity.

Seven colleagues from Westmorland General Hospital raised nearly £4,000 for Bay Hospitals Charity by completing the Yorkshire Three Peaks challenge.

Meanwhile Elizabeth Adams, Amy Baron and Lynne Humphreys completed a two-day, 100km challenge through the Lake District and raised £2,000 for St John's Hospice.

Cumbrian siblings Charlotte and George Milligan conquered the Wasdale X Ironman triathlon and raised £1,300 for the Growing Well mental health charity.

Sisters Rosie Parsons and Heather Trafford ran 156 miles across all the counties under North West Fire control in four days to raise more than £3,000 for the Fire Fighters Charity.

And Adele Harris, an assistant teacher at Coniston Primary School, is to undertake The Ration Challenge. The week-long sponsored event will see her live on the diet that a Syrian refugee would have to live on while crossing borders to reach Britain.

Well done to all these fund-raising heroes.