I'm sorry, did I suggest that I actually wanted to join BA as a DEP?
No, I haven't applied and have no intention of doing so.
Some of my early commercial flying was in something slightly bigger than a Seneca. Nevertheless it was a manually flown aircraft with basic navigation aids flying during some very challenging weather and into some very challenging airfields. I may sound 'modest' but I have to say that my manual flying skills back then were second to none.
I have had the pleasure in recent years of flying with quite a few ex-rather senior BA pilots (Training Captains and Fleet Managers) who have all said that I would have easily fitted into BA and that the standard there during their time was not as high as the company that I presently worked for.
It seems to me that in most cases the only people that think BA is the only place to work are existing BA pilots who haven't known anything else!