gary, i am guessing that you were on your way to the IoW going close to Southampton, which route were you taking? i am just curious cos whenever i head that way from london i speak to farnborough and they normally stay with me until i am very close to the coastline. From this position you know that you are clear of anyones airspace and i then dont need to bother Sotn. You also get a good idea as to where alot of other traffic is.
I will say now that Farnborough have always been excellent and will, when they are not exceptionally busy, always provide a radar service. Keep it up boys!
So maybe call farnborough in future as you do get a reasonable response from them.