On the day I describe Brize could hear me, not entirely sure if they I was on their radar. For the service I wanted radar was unnecessary. Again, perhaps it was just a quiet period. In the same light, I've been at the same QSY point abeam Leicester (almost a personal comms trigger point strangely) and Cottesmore couldn't see me on radar... that day I did need a higher level service
Waddington were being helpful, as they usually are. Essentially the controller provided the same basic service for you that London Information provide, but perhaps less tiresome on the ears. In my experience, London Info can be tiring to monitor, due to the large area covered and the large number of aircraft often on frequency.
Absolutely. London Info can quickly become very busy. I've only really used them during a club fly-out to activate flight plans and the like. It was a useful tool for keeping in touch with the rest of our group too.
I'll be honest. Usually if coverage runs out with a gap between LARS units I tend to keep the lookout at max and not talk to anyone for x minutes
Of course when flying VFR the lookout is always at max isn't it?