I’d be interested on views on this

The daughter probably wants to set a good example for her kids, and doesn't want any breaking of rules by grandma moving in for a hug.

I agree with her. It's bloody ridiculous that people can't speak to each other at a distance.

In fact, they do. When I take the dog out for a walk I often see neighbours speaking loudly to each other at a very safe distance. Why is it a special problem if you are related?

Some people are very self-contained and don't really need anyone else - I have a friend like that. I am very comfortable in my own company but I, and many other people, would definitely feel depressed if I was completely deprived of human company. We need to have a little compassion for people and not be so judgmental. Obviously, having house parties and the like is not abiding by the guidance.

I’ve seen my daughter and grandson a few times following the social distancing guidelines. She lives less tan 10 minutes away by car and I’ve been printing out her son’s school work sheets as she doesn’t have a printer. I leave them by my front door, she collects them, rings the bell then stands at the bottom of my drive and we have a quick chat. Recently, she brought my grandson who understands why he can’t come close to us. He’s only 4.5 but he does understand why. As long as the guidelines are observed then there’s not a problem. There’s no way we would take this any further as we are both protecting our families.

I feel the same as GabriellaG54.

I agree with Gabriella. Already consumer spending indicates substantially increased hand washing and cleaning of surfaces.

Already, and in an interestingly short time, television shots of people people sitting and standing close together look odd. TV advertisers have already adapted their material to accord with the new social rules.

I think the virus will become endemic, and people will become accustomed and skilled at keeping distance from each other. The habit will develop into a taboo about who may not be physically close. In this way restrictions can be relaxed as we can be trusted to use our common sense.

* the huge amount of effort the Government has put in to keep people terrified* - I do not think that is their aim - why would it be? They will be the ones who will have to pick up the pieces of the economic recession that will follow.

The approach here is broadly similar to other western nations so not necessarily based on one person's assessments; and I think our journalists are in the main doing a good job of asking why where appropriate.

I do not think that people are unaware of the implications for freedoms that we treasure, but are prepared to see these adapted temporarily to exceptional circumstances. Police who have overstepped the mark in enforcement have been rapped over the knuckles - quite rightly.

The Nightingale hospitals are not greatly in use at this moment precisely because the measures in place have succeeded in not overwhelming the NHS - at some cost, I am aware, in terms of delayed or cancelled appointments or treatments. We cannot rule out the possibility that these facilities might be needed in the inevitable second wave of the virus when measures are relaxed.

We miss our children and grandchildren very much although both our son and daughter phone us once a week. I don't want to take any risks. I feel as though we are almost living in a bubble, the two of us at home feels like a wonderful gift, to just spend this block of time together. The circumstances that brought it about are terrifying. I am almost afraid of leaving our house and garden and have not left the place for over seven weeks. Please,everyone, don't try to manipulate the rules. We all want to stay alive and for our families to be alive,safe and well.

...and my frequent hand washing will continue.

Life will never be the same. I, for one, won't be indulging in cuddles and kisses as this virus might simply lie dormant, only to rise again a few months later.
I will never like crowded trains or eating out or shaking hands that might carry the virus from train seat to restaurant to home to me.

Tillybelle

though dreadful, it is a form of flu

It is NOT a form of flu

We're not being manipulated

Nothing else is going on

footnote I may have been ambiguous about Sweden's deaths. Sorry. I meant, they are living carefully but with more freedoms, without huge shut downs, so protecting their economy, so logically one would expect them to have more deaths from the virus. In fact their numbers are fairly similar, not much worse (not terrible) than other countries. Which begs the question, why did we, and others, shut down the way we did? (With the resultant economic disaster)
My main problem though is that we have allowed quite unreasonable things to happen, even to some Police behaving very badly, and not complained because we think we must do our bit to support the NHS and get through. However, we are losing our Civil Liberties without asking why, and accepting daft rules like not talking over the fence, at the right distance, to our relative! How stupid is that? Why cannot people stop for a 6ft apart chat on their walk? If more people come along I am sure we will disburse graciously. The Swedes manage. Unfortunately the enforcement of the rules, the splitting of the family, the intrusion into our privacy, will lead people to seek reasons as to why this strange way of life has occurred, once they begin to rationalise the COVID situation and realise, though dreadful, it is a form of flu and we had to deal with it, but we expect to return to normal. I fear we will not return to the place we were at before. I mean with regard to civil liberties. I do not think stories of health scares will be sustainable to keep us behaving according to the strange rules for ever either. So more draconian law enforcement will gradually happen, as it has already. People will begin to ask, is there something else going on? Are we being manipulated? Once this uncertainty begins the cohesion of Society breaks down.

It's NOT a recent photo... heaven's sake. Read the article.

Oops! Sandwich.

I had someone bring some plants and rhubarb today. Parked car in lane, put plant pots on ground and rhubarb on car roof. I wore plastic gloves and placed pots and rhubarb in bags then put sealed plastic sandwhich bag with pre-sanitised coins in, on her car roof, stepped away and we chatted for about 5 minutes. Then she collected money and drove home.
What a palava but obviously necessary.

South Korea! Sorry!

https://www.gransnet.com/uploads/talk/202004/medium-740582-screen-shot-2020-04-18-at-16-47-21.png https://www.gransnet.com/uploads/talk/202004/medium-237008-screen-shot-2020-04-23-at-20-18-10.png

Frankly, most of the rules have been made up on the hoof by certain people with very little brain and no regard for human rights. It seems to me to be a direct method of breaking up the family. Just as the rule about a Husband cannot be with his Wife for the birth of their child. Another that is completely illogical is that one cannot shop specifically for decorating items such as paint or tiles in order to decorate your house! So the local family-run and mine-of-information Hardware Store goes into liquidation while we internet shop from the giants.

Did you know the organisations that can already access your ISP records and monitor everything you do online? It's expanding. You should acquaint yourself. I mean, do you mind the Food Standards Agency having free access without your knowledge to everything you do while connected to the internet? Every letter you write here or email... Then there is the Department of Health, Department of Transport, NHS Trusts that provide ambulance services.... Why all these? If we are doing something criminal then surely it is a Police matter?

But with the immense fear around due to that the huge amount of effort the Government has put in to keep people terrified, plus the current need to be virtue signalling which becomes so emotional on Westminster Bridge that even Cressida Dick is not bothered about those corona droplets from nearby public as people ignore the 6feet rule. Our Nightingale hospitals await. Empty. Our normal hospitals stand on guard more than half empty. Our poor in every sense Carers keep caring for our elderly in Care Homes, wondering how long it will be before they get the virus and maybe die, for lack of protection. The elderly in the Care Homes just die. Without their family holding their hand, even if they do not have CV and if the family give it to them now, well, it's a bit late wouldn't you say? Thank God for those Carers, many of whom are the Immigrants Boris Johnson felt were excessive additions to our Country. Indeed common sense, normal intelligence, and compassion have all died.

What amazes me is the ready way people accept these stupid ideas and are prepared to think up excuses for supporting them. People do not think "why?" People do not ask, "how was this decision made?" It was made actually on the basis of a very questionable set of predictions of mortality on a paper supervised by Professor Neil Fergusson at Imperial College.

Professor Neil Ferguson, of the MRC Centre for Global Infectious Disease Analysis at Imperial College in London, produced a paper predicting that Britain was on course to lose 250,000 people during the coronavirus epidemic unless stringent measures were taken. His research is said to have convinced Prime Minister Boris Johnson and his advisors to introduce the lockdown.The numbers, he later changed drastically. But this 'paper' was never Scientifically published, and thus not Peer reviewed so not given the scrutiny of the Scientific community. Epidemiologists and other Scientists across the World were horrified when they saw the predictions which were the basis for Boris Johnson shutting down the country and leading it to financial strangulation.

Neil Fergusson the man who in 2009 wildly over estimated the effect of swine flu with devastating results, and was behind disputed research that sparked the horrific mass culling of farm animals during the 2001 epidemic of foot and mouth disease, a crisis which cost the country billions of pounds. This very man was chosen to make the novel Corona Virus predictions which led to the decision that will affect our Grandchildren all their lives for they will be paying for it. Where has common sense gone? Nobody said why aren't you asking some other scientists? Or why isn't there a proper debate? Or why are Out Korea's death figures so incredibly low? Or why is Sweden coping so well, not having any terrible death figures, with people being sensible about distancing but not shutting down the economy?

Or, importantly, why was this Fergusson man chosen when his record has been so disastrous, he has made one terrible bad decision after another. Remember how, separately he also predicted that up to 150,000 people could die from bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE, or ‘mad cow disease’) and its equivalent in sheep if it made the leap to humans. To date there have been fewer than 200 deaths from the human form of BSE and none resulting from sheep to human transmission.

Worse, where have Civil Liberties gone?

I greatly fear that life has changed far more than we realise. We have handed over our precious freedoms and personal privacies, our rights to debate and discuss openly with respect for one another. We have given up our right to do so many things we took for granted, thinking it was important to save lives, support our NHS from being over-loaded. Yet our hospitals have empty wards. Our Police have been able to tell us we cannot buy paint, we cannot sit on a bench, we must go home, just as they please, not with any guidance or with real evidence that it is better for the greater good if an elderly couple, say, taking a seat on their walk, must be told to get up straight away and go home. Our Police are changing. The Police we used to be so proud of are no longer here.

My country has changed. We can only protect the common sense, decency and our human rights if we begin to recognise that we have let them slip through our fingers.

I don't think anyone is stupid I think everyone should be extra careful during this difficult time. Every time my son takes out his little twins for a daily walk I tell him to make sure they don't run in case they fall. The last thing anyone needs is to end up in A&E. Good health to everyone.

My friend lives in a cul de sac of 15 houses and they all stand on the pavement or in their front gardens every day at 3pm for a long chat. They are 2 metres apart and outside. When I see friends shopping in my village I dont ignore them. We stand 2 metres apart and talk. I shop once a week in a very large Tesco for two vulnerable neighbours and I talk to the chaps controlling the queues, other shoppers and the lady on the till, as do most other people - we still social distance. If these things are routinely going on then I see no reason why family members cant talk 2 metres apart and outside if they live near to each other.

Well said Cleopanda - I think many people are forgetting how dangerous this virus can be.

Prince Charles has been at Birkhall on the Balmoral estate since 21 March in isolation SHW so no way he has ignored lock down! As SueDonim says it’s an old photo from last summer

There is also a photo of Louis on his second birthday (23rd April) He looks more grownup than he does in the one of his grandad giving him a cuddle, and is dressed more like a "big boy". Nowhere do I see that the cuddling photo was taken on his second birthday - six months earlier, I would guess from the look of the child. Prince Charles said that was "his favourite photo" - not surprised, it is a lovely natural pic of a boy and his grandad.

I see familes locally all chatting to each other on the drive at a safe distance. I only wish my children were nearer so I could do the same ?

When DDs bring food, they place it by door, ring bell, then retreat to the other side of garden from where we hold a conversation with me at front door. One DD arrived this morning desperate for a wee, so she went into the back garden and availed herself of a bush - I did not ask which one!

Thank you, Artysue. It is what it is so we just have to keep b*ggering on!

I think that photo of Prince Charles is from last year. Prince Louis looks quite small.