Nigel.. Lots of that doesn't tie up. I've had aircraft on short final say "can we roll to 79?" or "OK to take xx turn-off", which suggests their decision was not made 10 miles out. Most pilots operating scheduled services know what the next frequency will be and have it on the other box.
I was trained never to talk to pilots on take-off or landing except in an emergency... One day a 747 half-way down the runway on the roll said: "Er, can you just run through the SID with us?" One Christmas we put cracker riddles on the ATIS... "answers on 118.5 or 118.7 as appropriate". I well recall a DC-9 pilot not only asking for the answer but giving us a riddle too.... as he landed.
Happy days - almost.