Used my IMC rating for the first time in anger on Wednesday - I was going from Oxford - Old Buckenham - Oxford, arrived at 10am to find 400ft cloud base... As it began to clear around noon I booked an IFR departure slot and by the time I left I could have gone VFR, marginal, but decided to go for the IFR departure. Real feeling that it was all worth it, as I climbed into the cloud on a BOTLI departure, routed via WCO to CFD and then came out of the cloud at Cranfield. I had taken the precaution of ringing Cambridge to make sure they had suitable conditions so I didn't end up at Old Buckenham without an instrument approach...
Now was that a dangerous thing to do? That counts as using the rating deliberately... but it was the first bit of IMC flying I'd done for several months and if I don't use it, I'll lose the skills...
Tim