Think I'm being blamed for something I haven't done

That is so hard - tension between neighbours is very stressful.

I am not sure I have any bright ideas about how you might deal with it; but did not want to just read and run.

I’d carry on as per normal - they’d have to tell me to my face!

Carry on as normal and don't hide away either. If the ignoring behaviour bothers you so much just ask them if you have offended them..........keeping a social distance of course.

I'd just politely say something like: "Am I being over-sensitive or do I sense an atmosphere?"
That way the ball is in their court. If they are being off with you it may be for a completely different reason, or they may be struggling with lockdown?

I'm with Pantglas2 who posted earlier today. Stand tall & carry on. I've got some odd, standoffish neighbours, I just totally ignore them & carry on. Don't feel I need to speak or have anything to do with them. I cherish the ones who do trouble to be friendly.

We had a similar situation in the first lockdown. We were at our second home and stayed there for 10 weeks.

One couple who we had been very friendly with stopped talking to us. The wife wasnt too off but the husband went out of his way to avoid us. We have had this cottage for 21 years and spend half of our time there, ordinarily. The only thing we could think of was that he thought we shouldnt have stayed there and should be back in Essex . We didn’t confront him but carried on as usual , waving hello and saying good morning. It does make for an awkward atmosphere though.

If you want to resolve the problem there’s only one way: you have to say have we upset you in some way, only I feel you are avoiding us
It’s not easy but once it’s out there everyone knows where they stand.

I'd do as MerylStreep suggests.

Thank you all for your kind words, don't think I'm going to be able to confront him, so will square my shoulders and ignore/avoid them.

If they are still on good terms with other neighbours perhaps you could ask one of them why you are being blanked.

I hate confrontation and am a bit paranoid too. Like you I would find this very difficult. I find it hard to ignore situations.
Prior to this, did you get on with them? How exactly are they 'rude' to you?
I think that I would try to manufacture a conversation with one of them, and like pps have suggested, just ask them.

What a difficult situation. I’d try to carry on as normal with a wave and a smile, but like you would find it very awkward.
You have my sympathy.

You know what they say; you can't change others, only your attitude to them. The best thing would be if this all passed over and you got back to "good neighbourliness".

I would think the best and only way to do that is to carry on with your life with a bright "good morning", etc., when appropriate - and then get on with what you went outside to do. Walk on, turn away but just carry on as if all was normal. If he's out in the garden and you want/need to be in the front garden just a cheery "hello John" (or whoever) and then turn and get on with what you needed to do there.

It might, on occasion, be worth confronting friends but it is rarely, if ever, worth confronting neighbours, in my view. Once we can get out and about more and you can have your actual friends over I would do so; it will help you put your relationship with this couple in perspective - something I think we have all lost to some degree in lockdown and that may well include them

What's wrong with people saying mate, it's a friendly thing to say and quite Snobish of you to be critical of that

As for them thinking it was you there's only one solution to that problem, go over to them be down to earth and friendly and let them know that it was actually not yourself that reported them. And please try not to act Snobish or give the impression, that you, are better than them..

Hope that helped mate

Msida

What's wrong with people saying mate, it's a friendly thing to say and quite Snobish of you to be critical of that

As for them thinking it was you there's only one solution to that problem, go over to them be down to earth and friendly and let them know that it was actually not yourself that reported them. And please try not to act Snobish or give the impression, that you, are better than them..

Hope that helped mate

I don’t understand why you think the OP was being snobbish. They were just concerned that they had upset someone.

What's wrong with people saying mate, it's a friendly thing to say and quite Snobish of you to be critical of that

I don't think that the OP actually said that her neighbours used the term "mate" at all. On re reading the OP, I read it as she referred to her neighbours as very larger than life character and everybody's mate. Not the same thing really Stick. End. Wrong. Of.

just try to not overthink it and ignore it! you haven't done anything so stop feeling guilty

Poster didn’t say they said ‘ mate’ only that they were everyone’s mate nothing snobbish about that msida
Jumping guns comes to mind

I d just carry on and hope it blows over if it ever comes up in conversation you can deny it but you don’t even know if it is that so let it go

I was in a rented cottage in a terrace of five, and one of the cottages was a second home. The people came and went freely for months, but about August time got a visit very early one Saturday morning from the Community Police Officer who told them to go home.

The other residents all assumed it was the couple who lived in the detached house nearby, because they 'didn't speak' to these people. I was appalled and tried to defend them, but it seemed they had to have 'someone' to blame.

This all happened in March.
I hope that op has got it sorted now and probably not reading

I doubt if the op is still reading. She’s probably sorted the problem ( or not) as she first posted on 12th March.

they might have cut off the power to her house and Jesus has bumped this thread so people can find her before it is too late