interesting to read your posts regarding afiso and a/g.
one of the reasons i stopped instructing was when an islander flew underneath us downwind in the circuit of a midlands airfield.(sounds like the same one)
there had been no warning or traffic info from the a/g person.
more worryingly the islander pilot didnt even see us!!!!
on another occ at the same airfield a twin pilot was cleared,, yes cleared, to join on the deadside base leg. my student on the correct base leg had to turn right to avoid a collision. the twin pilot was adamant that he had right of way because he had been cleared by the a/g person, a spotty teenager of around 15.
then as now pilots need to understand the limitations of the a/g afiso service, its every man for himself seemingly!
on the other side of the coin, i fly a passenger jet transport and the standard of traffic information at some regional airfields is sometimes worse than a club airfield.
favourite is coming off app freq onto twr with no traffic info, no position in traffic etc. as we need a bit more room to manoevre it can be a bit embarrasing at times and dangerous.
best advice for both me and you is keep your eyes open, lookout is more important than flying a perfect circuit! also be aware of all radio calls and build up a picture of what is going on, ALL controllers can make mistakes, dont rely on ATC.A/G of AFISO.
my old boss had a good saying, never rely on one man one instrument or one engine!
PS
i was recently told that airfield manager of the above mentioned airfield, a bankrupt secondhand car dealer(say no more) who seemingly had his hand in the till has now fled the country. as this individual was one of the biggest dickheads i have come across in aviation and chiefly responsible for the poor airfield standards, i say three cheers!