MattB,
As the above said, yes we must be mad. I'm in a similar position to you having done a CPL/IR years ago and then the family arrived which to be honest was enough of a distraction without changing careers too. To cut a long story short, I did all the ATPL's earlier this year, and I am about to start the IR (again, as I let it go outside the 5 years) and probably MCC after that.
By the time I'm ready, I'll be 41. Sure, it's a gamble, and I recon the job market will probably need to bend in my favour if I stand a chance of getting a job. Having said that, I heard that BM took on someone at the age of 45 the oher week, and he had 1200 TT. Well, thats less than me, and older too, so there is hope. There was also a well documented case (BM again) of a miner who was made redundant, retrained and got job also at 45, I believe without the hours.
I hear from friends on the inside that BM have lost a lot of crew to BA lately, so they may be favouring older people in the hope that they will stay with them and not move on. Something that I know is an advantage to some of the smaller operators.
For me, the biggest problem with the change will be the drop in salary of around 70% (IT contractor yuk), and not having a regular week. Mad yes, supportive family yes, loads of debts no. Perfect candidate.
Good luck
PS