So am a little surprised he couldn't understand and accept a direct Lambourne?
At risk of sounding defensive, I never said I couldn't accept direct Lambourne. I did say:
It took me a moment to find Lambourne and punch it in the GPS
As I mentioned before, I do feel like I have a reasonable understanding of the UK system. I dutifully respond "deconfliction service" when asked OCAS, I "pass my details" when asked, etc.
Nor do I want to give the impression that I was lost like a ball in the tall weeds. When I was told to "route Daventry" or "NATEB" or "Brookmans Park" or any other fixes I punched in the idents and went on my merry way.
Asking for the Lambourne identifier was the only thing I asked for that day.
As a foreign pilot it can be tough to see how any intrinsic benefit some of the unique UK procedures may have outweighs the lack of standardization, therefor I appreciate the clarifications and background that many have given in this thread.