I did my stage 1 at Manchester this afternoon.
I can say this: I HATE CUBES
The basic checking was okay, you just need to work quickly.
The diagramming was okay too once you got your head around it.
The motivation paper was do-able if you read the booklet they send. Although, there are some questions regarding D/S/T and distances between European cities which can throw you.
Fingers crossed. If I don't get through, I know it's those darned cubes that got to me!