I had wanted to leave the conversation where it was on the 24th, but now you seem to infer that I'm somehow not telling the truth, misrepresenting facts or that my grief then was of my own doing. Well...
First the technical matters :
Take off and go direct on a MAP procedure! This way before TKOF you will know what your hold entry is!
So what ? We're not comparing the possibilities of practicing hold entries, just the time it takes before you get to an instrument approach fitted towered field. When you start from a towered field, it will be quicker because you are already there.
Hold entries you can practice over any VOR, NDB, Radio Station etc... outside of controlled airspace. You don't need to have the instructor "position yourself" so as to arrive over the NDB from such and such radial in EGMC.
Try doing a route to Cambridge, and get stuck for 30 minutes in the hold, waiting for your approach, this is not something anyone can pre-plan!
We're talking about Cambridge in the UK ? 30 minutes hold ??? Last time I flew there I got my landing clearance at beacon outbound...
The whole point is to get realistic experience in real flight environment.
I disagree. A good instructor can just as well simulate that real flight environment in uncontrolled airspace while simulating atc calls.
When you state
Some are oversenstive for the reception ladies there.
and
Maybe they are not there to give you a red carpet treatment
I can indeed confirm that I did not get a red carpet treatment from the reception / booking office. I can also confirm that they did not rip me off for any money. They only made me rush from work and waste time and money on two cab rides to and from the airfield. If they had too many students / were too busy, I would have gladly rescheduled or accepted that my training request couldn't be accommodated for this term / season.
I'm sure that, if they had been able to manage their booking agenda properly, I wouldn't be writing about it now.
And I hope you can see I wasn't writing for or against Stapleford Abbots / SFC. My point, in answering the OP's question, was that you should consider many factors, such as travel time on the ground, landing fees as a student, travel time in the air to the various navigation beacons and instrument approaches, safety while under the hood, etc