YIPPEE! Garden centres opened last Wednesday. My husband and I were desperate for summer bedding plants (probably not essential by Government standards but vital for our mental health) and so we went to our preferred garden centre, Whitegates, in West Rounton.

We deferred our visit until Friday in the hope that the initial crush would be over, but we still expected to be there all day.

What a revelation! They are organised with military precision, which doesn’t give them sufficient praise.

A family-run business, they have limited the number of trolleys available at any one time so they can monitor how many people are inside.

They have a “gate-keeper” who keeps the queue informed of their protocol and sanitises trolleys.

They have a one-way system through the centre.

They have safe payment checkouts, which exceed Government guidelines.

They have staff who deliver bags of compost by wheelbarrow to your car.

In essence, we believe they have exceeded Government guidelines.

And we queued for only about ten minutes.

Oh, and by the way, their plants are superb! As is their café which, unfortunately is still closed.

We cannot thank them enough for the service they are providing!

G Nixon, Darlington.