I agree, Rightstuffer, ATCOs are human, which means some can be nice and some absolute bastards.
I discovered this very soon after getting my PPL; I was scared stiff of talking on the radio as I'd been given a hard time as a student by some of the real bastards. However, I got lost in poor visibility and finally HAD to tell D & D, by which time I was three miles from Birmingham Airport. Birmingham Approach were absolutely wonderful, kept reassuring me as they directed me safely out of their airspace, and almost wouldn't let me go when I was approaching the end of their radar coverage: "Well you can stay with me for another 10 miles if you like; you don't have to talk to anyone new yet if you don't feel up to it".
More recently, I was doing the "Dawn to Dusk" with a friend, and we needed a photo of something right in the middle of Luton's Zone, at 8.15 am, when they were obviously extremely busy. I called, asked for zone transit and explained why, expecting to be told to go away. Instead they cleared us to enter, with the enquiry: "Will you be there long?" I still can't believe it!