Thanks all
Was hoping to raise a genuine question as to whether this had happened to others. As I mentioned in the original post this was not a question about the legality of this flight which I am clear on, but a genuine concern about the possibility of others being put into a position of uncertainty. I have to assume that the less experienced pilot might not be aware of the need to advise the initial air traffic unit of the ability or otherwise to comply with IFR. Of course it is the responsibility of the pilot but that doesn't help if something goes wrong.
Can't quite recall but I may have omitted to make it clear to the first unit whether we were intending to complete the flight IFR or VFR so had I actually been intending to fly VFR I may have been in error but this still concerns me that the default assumption is IFR (and on first contact with the unit is was not in airspace / conditions which would require me to fly IFR).
AA thanks for asking about the pics. A slap on the wrist from BRL :-) prevents me from mentioning it much on this post but the library is building nicely. The pic on the front of the PILOT where to fly guide is one of ours. Feel free, by the way, to use the Dak pic in ads for the flying club if you want. Latest challenge is to get four Citabrias in the air together on a nice day - taking some organising but we will get there. Hope things are well with you and feel free to pay us a visit again some time.