Hi Colin,
Sorry, only just got round to reading the spinning thread again and saw the note from you. Yes, we had some good times in Warton, Paris and Toulouse. I still tell the story of the "mockpit cockup meeting" which we held in Toulouse.
I've been in Aus since 1988 after working in Germany on the Flight Control System of the Eurofighter. Worked all over the place in Aus but none of it as interesting as the European Aviation world.
On spinning, for most aircraft (certainly the ones I fly, Pitts, Decathlon and C152) the Muller Beggs technique works fine. My instructor drums in 'power off, centralise the ailerons (ie release the stick), stamp on the wing going forward and then LOWER THE NOSE. The last bit is to take into account the inverted spin situation when you have to pull the stick to lower the nose. However, be careful as Muller Beggs doesn't work on all aircraft.
Cheers, Clive (current, for one more month, Queensland Aerobatic Champion for 2008/09!)