I think there is a new £10 note on the way too.
The new fives are more fiddly to count and they just seem too small, but other than that we haven't had any trashed ones at work yet.
We get quite alot of old notes that have been written on, I haven't tried to write on a new one but if you can't then that's a good thing. Its weird to write things like a shopping list or an address on a note but we get it all the time. Also when you count old notes they all fold over and corners bend, new ones don't so I guess in that respect they are easier.
I love coins but I like the pound as it is, we do get a lot of euros and other similar coins taken as payment so I wonder if they are making it 20 sided to make it a bit more distinct