Ok. Finally I figured out the bitcoin situation. Thanks girls.
Opened a blockchain wallet (following Elaine's instructions), went to a bitcoin ATM (there's like 8 in London, you just need to google "bitcoin ATMS in your city", popped cash inside the machine, pressed the code against screen et voila. Easy stuff.
Going back to Backpage I'm just surprised they're still bumping ads for free and letting the spam fest continue
Removing that option would stop the spamming. Spam fests disencourage genuine posters. If backpage doesn't put a stop to it they're going end up like craigslist therapeutic section, an utter mess that has been hijacked by asian gangs and eastern European pimps -posting 24/7- asking us (indies) 600 pounds a month to include us in their spamming machine (it happened to me and a few other ladies I know).
Maybe we should all send an e-mail to the Backpage support service and warn them. They're pretty good at getting back to you with any issue.