Out of interest Streetfighter, what was your job hunting plan exactly, when you trained back in 2001 or whenever it was?
If as you claim, you went through all the pain-in-the-ass of studying for and passing the Ryanair assessment, bearing in mind you had to pay for the assessment even way back then, why did you THEN decide "once they offered you the job" that you didn't want it? No offense but it sounds pretty fishy to be honest.
Presumably you also didn't fancy working your way up through the instructing / turboprop route (which was still highly viable 10 years ago)?
What did you do for FIVE years from 2001 to 2006 while job hunting? Just stay at home and post CV's, or did you get out there and try to meet some people and sweep some hangar floors and buy some beers and kiss some asses?
Were you seriously that naive, that you thought you could just kick back with your 400 hours TT and reject a couple of jet job offers along the way, while you waited for BA or Monarch to realize just how amazingly good you were and snap you up?
What has changed now, what's brought you back to an industry that is undoubtedly a lot MORE crap than it was a decade ago? And is there any jobs that you would consider beneath you this time around?