Should I feel guilty?

no need at all to feel guilty aonk.You've done nothing wrong,and don't worry about making a noise.

We hadn't seen our grandchildren since lockdown, until yesterday. It was our grandsons 3rd birthday. We took his presents to his house. Our daughter in law was there with her children too. We sat in the garden. The children played in their paddling pool. We sat at a distance. It was so good to see them after all that time. No harm done.

That's right Missiseff, we're all angry.

Libman, Misseseff, Harrigran
When are you going to come out? There's not going to be an announcement in say one months time to say ok folks, it's all ok now, you can all go back to normal

Imho this is what Boris said when he eased the lockdown restrictions. Of course he couldn't say that directly, people would have been very confused/ angry/ frightened. So he allowed small liftings and is now leaving to us to see how it goes. Basically he's kicked the lockdown into the long grass.

Nothing wrong with what you did. Shopping for parents I have always sat in their garden and had a chat at a distance.
Has anyone been that sterile and not realised you can see people just no hugging and no big gatherings?
I mean it's instinct all the way now as rules are out the window. Don't forget you should wear a mask but Boris as not made it compulsory especially on public transport, so again it's up to.

I think that's fine. I also think it's OK sitting in a park - provided people behave sensibly and keep their distance.

Can I refer everyone who is saying it is perfectly legal to section 6 of The Health Protection (Coronavirus, Restrictions) (England) Regulations 2020. Sadly leaving your home to go into somebody’s garden remains technically an offence. Whether you should feel guilty or if the police will even bother to speak to anybody about it is another matter. I took a document that needed witnessing to a neighbour’s garden the other day. We took all appropriate safety precautions and even discussed whether we should meet in the street to try to do it. Yes, I actually had a tinge of guilt at the time although instinct told me the necessity of the situation gave me a reasonable excuse under the legislation. After the revelations of this weekend, I don’t know why I even had a tinge.

I think it is a case of using your common sense. I had my mum and dad round last week, we had a glass of wine in the garden (socially distanced) and it was lovely.

I am in Portugal so we are a bit further out of lockdown than the UK but we havent seen anyone since my birthday in early March. Most of our friends have been the same. When speaking to my palliative care doctor she thought a vist to my son who lives about 120km away would do both my husband and I good. My son and daughter in law have also stayed at home and have only shopped every three weeks so I am sure all will be well.

My closest friend wants to meet up at the local cafe for a coffee next week but I am feeling a bit worried about this though.

I would feel guilty I'm afraid.
I have only seen my grandchildren through the window.

Libman Missiseff Harrigran
Agree with you totally. I'm heartbroken too. Our region has the highest no of deaths outside of London and its not difficult to see why.

We could stay in ten years, and then still peak when we come out! According to some scientists we were listening to the other evening. This virus could be around for ever, but the world won’t be if we stay locked up. At some point, we have to go out there and get on with it.

Shocked reading how many on here are breaking the rules, and how many others are saying don't feel guilty, were doing the same!! And most seem before the Cummings fiasco.
Just 1 from 1 household with one from another household in a public place is allowed. I can't see my child (disabled in a group home) and cannot Skype or phone as they have no language) I am desperate to visit (its over 12 weeks for me now) and will only be able to when the rules change. I think thats why I get so upset reading all this because it can only delay that time.

I did the same yesterday and last weekend. Travelled to see the two separate households of my AC and I sat in the garden, socially distanced. It was marvellous. The grandkids were fine and kept their distance too. All good, and better for seeing each other.

Sad to say but it looks like Corona is here to stay for some time. Are we all to stay locked up in our homes unable to see people we love? It seems to me the government has another agenda going on but that is a whole new discussion. Anyway, do not feel guilty! We as a family decided that each separate household would totally self isolate i.e. very very limited walks wearing masks and only shopping once a fortnight. After the fortnight quarantine is up we drive over to sit in each other’s gardens. We have had a birth and death in the family since Corona. Life is too short. We can’t keep wrapping ourselves in cotton wool to such an extent. Can we?

You should not feel guilty. My neighbour has had 2 different family groups staying over for a weekend the kids have had friends over and she has been sharing cars with other people.
So your carefully constructed visits are nothing compared to how some people are treating this.
Also noticed more groups of teenagers hanging about together lately.

Perfectly fine, legal, morally ok, and much safer than so many idiots are doing

Sauce for the goose.......

I have to agree with Missieff, I have spent three months away from my family and to have neighbour's children running around the garden is upsetting.
If I had a pound for every comment I have heard, "we only", "we just" I could prop up the NHS with the proceeds.

It’s my GC birthday tomorrow and I’m going to sit in the garden. There’s no way I would have done it at the beginning of lockdown.

This is one of the most upsetting threads I have ever read! I have NOT seen my two grandaughters since March. I have followed the rules and can’t believe how stupid I appear to have been. We are all sitting in judgement this morning about Dominic Cummings breaking the rules whilst happily confessing to also breaking the rules. It is not good enough to say ‘ah well we were being sensible’. Every person on here who has decided to break the rules is as culpable as him in my opinion. We were asked to all be in this together, to do what is right and to support each other and I feel completely let down. We weren’t told to use our judgement, we were given an instruction and not to deviate from it. I am really suffering from not seeing my two little ones but I know I am not a special case and some families will never see their loved ones again and couldn’t even attend their funeral. Their loved ones in many cases died alone. How utterly inconsiderate are some of the people on here . I am disgusted and heartbroken.

I'm absolutely appalled at how many of you have had family visiting, grandchildren playing in the garden!!! Oh, but we kept two metres apart!!! Do you honestly, truly, think that justifies your actions?? We've all got grandchildren, two of mine live yards away & in normal times look after them once a week, but never once throughout this pandemic, have we had them round to play in the garden!!! It's people like you who are the reason Britain has the has the highest death rate. I really hope you don't stand and clap for carers on a thursday night

I think the last 2 weeks in England (sorry Wales, Scotland and NI) since restrictions were eased a little, we all feel a little guilty going out a bit more. I feel guilty using my car which sat in the street for over 4 weeks, untouched! I know that ridiculous, but we're not used to being told categorically we mustn't do something, and then bring told 'OK you can do it a tiny bit!'

Like BlueSky, I'm concerned that people will bend the rules to breaking point after the Cummings fiasco - has no-one in govt got the backbone to say 'Enough, I can't be part of a govt that lies'. We at Gransnet must say that it's not parental instinct to threaten the health of children, grandparents, random passers-by at Services and the nation as a whole.

My daughter lives two miles away. We used to look after her children aged two and four, two days a week. We have all adhered to lockdown rules for nine weeks. Yesterday she brought them to our front drive (we are lucky to have a large, private front garden) and I spoke to them at a distance through the open car window! We chatted about what they had been doing and it was as if we had only been apart for nine hours, not nine weeks. I wept with happiness when they had gone and feel so much better for seeing them.