In my opinion, East Mids have some of the best controllers in the UK. As long as your RT is (relatively) up to speed and you don't bust any airspace beforehand, their refusing a clearance or a flight information service is pretty much unheard of, unless you're asking for something really awkward like transit through the final approach at 1000' and they've got lots of inbounds.
Sunday morning is the quietest time - ILS is shut down for maintenance for that very reason.
With reference to flying near Ashbourne, if I were a controller and someone was general handling under my CTA, I'd like to know who they were and what their intentions were - it works both ways.