Thanks for the info chaps. Seeming as I've never flown in the United States before it's certainly something that takes a bit of understanding for me, bearing in mind that I'm used to the rather prehistoric QFE antics.
Decided to do a bit of a "googling" and found that the idea of having ASRs is certainly one that wants to be changed, and has been discussed under the Eurocontrol idea (thanks for the link Peekay4). I've done a fair bit of VFR flying around the UK and it certainly is a case, I've found anyway, that the use of the ASR regional pressure is very much hit and miss (i.e nearby airfield QNH may be provided rather than the regional). Also, certainly gives the altimeter subscale a good workout as it's being frequently changed.