Not that I wish to pick any bones with you WWW, but I'm assuming you were never one of these living dead?
I understand that circumstances were different then, what with the self improver route, the discontinuation of, incidentally, I consider to be one of the worst decisions ever made by those in the great nest of UK aviation.
But in saying that, wouldn't you have been tempted? After all, what's perhaps worn off through 9 years of flying was once there as hot as the fire of hell itself. I believe you may be applying your own personal scenario to a completely different era.
As you said, welcome to the new world...