last week i had (what I thought was) an absoloutly dreadful general(ie not for a specific project weirdly) board interview at UCL, but at the end the main interrogator told me outside to phone him if I had any more questions and drop him a line if I was still interested. I was also given some papers to look at by a second interviewer on a possible project. I am at a loss. Was i being offered a PhD if i could get a proposal together that suited them, or was it just to test the waters to give me a proper interview later? Any ideas/ experiences of totally confusing supervisors?

It sounds like some sort of expression of interest. Have a look at the papers you've been given. I doubt that they were after a research proposal from you - either here or on the UCL web site you'll see descriptions of the kind of research projects they have in mind. If you're interested, write or email them saying you'd like to work in their lab. If you want to know more (and it sounds like you do) then phone them up - if you're still unsure just ask them what they'd like you to do next.

Academics want to find good PhD students and it sounds like two of them thought you might be just that, so don't be afraid to ask them any questions. If your first impressions were actually correct and they were both a sandwich short of a picnic then you might want to check elsewhere before you commit to working for a lunatic.

Dear puzzled student,
Don't be sarcastic. Be bold and do not hide behind the scene.You are no student!!!