Should I feel guilty?

No need to feel guilty at all. It's time for us to be allowed to do our own risk assessments and act accordingly. On 1 June the government intends 4-6 year olds to return to school where social distancing will not happen all the time and I've just heard that footballers can now tackle in close contact training, along with boxers permitted to sparr. WHO always suggested 1m distancing and other countries chose their own interpretation eg Australia 1.5m. So no don't feel guilty. It's fine to use your common sense!

I can see nothing to feel guilty about, you were outside you kept your distance and people are now allowed to travel! I understand you may feel guilty because you've had something your neighbour can't, but that is not your fault or problem. Don't let it spoil your enjoyment !

Lot of non social distancing going on in our village, plus second homers visiting. One set of grandparents drove 150 miles to pick up GCs at Easter. No one seems to have been shopped to the police. However those in power should be seen to do the right thing.
We haven't seen our families since December and probably won't see them until there's a vaccine.

Don't feel guilty. You saw your family from a safe distance. We are all suffering from social isolation and I'm sure you all got a lot from this. I cannot see my own GSs as they are too young not to run up for a hug, but I'm happy for those that can see family.

Anok, I agree with how your feeling. I did same thing with DD & DGC last week a 40min car journey I wanted to sit in car across their garden wall with a flask. DD insisted I sat in back garden, DGC 9 & 11 struggled without hugs & general frivolity around each other, young children forget to stay apart on their excitement. It couldn’t have been a problem if I’d been allowed to stay on the curb as cruel as it seems.
Normality will reign again before too much longer I feel. Let’s save then to be our usual selves if at all possible. ?

BlueSky I agree with your views but I do hope not! I would like to think that people won't take an attitude of 'If it's allright for them' and then ruin what we have all achieved at such terrible cost. I met my DD, in her garden, and could have wept with happiness to see her face. We kept apart, drank some tea, and then I scuttled home, for some reason feeling guilty. I can't see the rest of my family at the moment although I long to. aonk you have done nothing that could be criticised. It was all 'within the rules' as I understand them. Let's hope the latest political storm, whipped up as usual by the press, won't do too much damage and people won't sacrifice common sense.

This is such a timely post for me, it was my birthday yesterday, the big family gathering obviously didn’t happen but my 3 children arranged time slots to visit with GC. So I had 3 separate visits all with social distance etc in the garden. This morning I was wondering what the neighbours will say or think but the majority of posts favour no guilt so I’m hopeful mine will be if the same mind. We do have to start a sensible return to normality.

Yes you should

I don't think you have done anything to feel guilty about, so relax and don't worry.

Don't see any harm in what you did sounds responsible as for upsetting your neighbours maybe you're over thinking which is understandable in these times I'll probably do something very similar in a couple of weeks for my birthday.

Definitely don’t feel guilty although yes, unless within one of the exceptions permitted in law (including that to care for a vulnerable person, twisted contrary to the Government’s own interpretation and guidance for the benefit of Dominic Cummings) it remains illegal to go into somebody else’s garden or indeed to leave your own home and garden without reasonable excuse. In my village, the police have been called to explain the law to people infringing the rules, but I wouldn’t think they’d even bother to come out now - why waste their time talking to people about nonsensical rules when those running the country are allowed to rely on instinct?

Nothing illegal here - the rules now are not what they were when Cummings took off to Durham - you can travel a reasonable distance - nothing amiss in your actions so please don’t feel guilty - sounds like everyone acted reasonably and legally.

My daughter lives 5 mins down the road. We has adhered to lockdown rules. And if we've been for a walk and walked past her house, we have knocked and stood at the front gate and had a chat. Today however my daughter ( who has hardly left her house in 8 weeks) as she has anxiety issues, is going to walk to our house come through our side gate, and sit at a distance and have a chat. I will spray the chair, and leave gel next to it. She will not have to come into house for anything, if she needs toilet living so close she will just go home. She will not stay to long.

Do not feel guilty. It was my 60th on Friday , and I worried about friends and local family visiting.
We set the garden out , so we could easily sit well apart . I put drinks in bottles ( washed and glasses dishwasher) out for them on a table , so we could share a Prosecco ( I had my own )
They used the back gate , and we cleaned chairs and table between visits .
It was so worth it , we were outside, it was windy so the virus had no chance ??
I had a lovely day , and I was dreading it . I do not feel guilty , and not do my family .life is tough enough at the moment

I must have been left behind. Since when is it OK to meet more than one person in the park? sitting in the back garden with family who may need the toilet particularly children has never been mentioned as allowed as far as I have heard?

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.

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.

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

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.

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.

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.

Sauce for the goose.......

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

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.

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?