Agreed, H-D.
In fact, one of the significant aspects of his report is that it gives the impression he did not understand when he was, and was not, in controlled airspace, and what the ramifications were...
Yes, UK ATC has it's idiosyncrasies, but this is not surprising given the volume of traffic and density of aerodromes.
There is no excuse for failing to prepare for flight, and a pilot who doesn't prepare, and then posts a series of complaints such as those above, only succeeds in highlighting his own inadequacies...