Whopity, thank you for your reply once again and your patience. I think the muddy water that is my mind might just be clearing on this one with the benefit of your input. I'll declare what I think things to be:
The EASA PPL(A) minima are simply the VMC minima;
To take things a little further;
Part-FCL.600 says a pilot needs an IR to fly IFR;
To conclude;
The old trick question "can a PPL holder fly in IMC without an instrument qualification" (as I understood it, yes, in class G airspace above 3000ft with a visibility of 3-5km and complying with the distance from cloud stuff) is now superfluous, because they can't.
Am I there?
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