SND, I totally agree. Problem with Farnborough seems to be understaffing. I use them regularly (as many of us in the corporate rotary industry do) but it appears that for much of the time, one Farnborough controller is presently often dealing with two, if not three areas, covering more than one frequency.
If you call up Farnborough North for a service when travelling from the Midlands they will only provide a basic service until you reach the boundary of their area of responsibility, when they will upgrade to traffic service. Similarly, if going north, they will normally downgrade you to a basic service once beyond the boundary shown on the chart in their pamphlet.
I first began flying for a living in 1977. Over the last forty years, with the closing of a number of military airfields (e.g. Cottesmore, Wittering) and now some more recent civilian ones, such as Coventry, the chances of getting a meaningful radar service in Central England have reduced. As I said before, there is a significant gap in the Southeast Midlands, where many aircraft must route and train.
If you fly by night, of late there is often no-one to talk to - even London Info have NOTAM'd closures late at night.