Lack of NOTAMS also caught me. Planned at 6:15am. Picked up mate, arrived airfield and - due to SNAFU with booking - delayed. Heard that a company had been denied YAVE due closed and had been allowed YMAV. Dumped mate in car and arrived 12:15pm.
That's two Gold Passes whose first 2hrs completely wasted (oh, but I got to use the "free car-park" component!!). Lesson learnt, won't buy in advance in future.
Regards,
BD