Experienced hire for BB M&A Analyst?

Hi there,

I'm slightly lost with my career concerns and would appreciate some input from insiders, i.e. folks who've been involved in the analyst recruiting at BBs. I'll outline my stats, followed by my current issues and questions. I'm Europe based, and while some things may indeed be relevant for Europe only, I'd also be glad to get input from the US members. I realise this is a slightly long post - apologies, but this is a relatively complicated situation...

Stats

1. Did something very very extraordinary (think athletics or arts, won't disclose this here as it may give away my identity) during high school. Slightly didn't care about high school grades back then as the extraordinary thing was what I would do after high school, and graduated with mediocre grades (made me fail the UCAS points cut-off when applying for BBs in London).

2. Was unable to pursue the extraordinary thing professionally after high school due to a medical problem. Still do the extraordinary thing, however just as a hobby. Studied finance and accounting at a European non-target, having done an internship at a small software start-up firm and discovered an interest for business.

3. Somehow managed to use the energy I used to put into the extraordinary thing into school and graduated as valedictorian. Completed variosu internships in marketing, controlling, and (small no-name tier 3, however still strategy) consulting. Came to the conclusion that consulting is "the thing".

4. Used undergrad GPA to get into top target school in Europe and completed a master with excellent grades. Got dinged for all BBs but managed to get 1. FT offer with a tier 2 top consulting firm (think OC&C, Berger, OW, ATK) and 2. internship in M&A boutique.

5. Signed FT offer with consulting firm and agreed to do the M&A internship before that. Absolutely loved M&A (4 months constant execution - exciting stuff) and got an offer there. Turned the offer down thinking high level strategy at tier 2 firm would still be "the thing".

6. Just completed one year at tier 2 firm, with top bucket classification.

Issue

I want back into M&A. The bank that made me an offer currently is not recruiting (rather the opposite) and I wonder how I can get "in" at another bank. This years' FT recruiting is obviously over so I'd apply for an entry in summer 2010, after 2.5 years consulting. I could stay a bit longer and enter an IB after an MBA, but honestly I'd like to switch back to M&A just now. Literally, now. My questions:

-Will I be too experienced/too old for an analyst job then? (I've got no probs with the hours)
-Will my mediocre high school grades still kill me? Is there any way around it?
-Would I, considering I've done quite a lot of directly relevant work in consulting, including valuation, potentially qualify for an Associate hire? Again, this is Europe, so an MBA may not be required.

Look forward to your thoughts, and am aware of the general market conditions and competition... Many thanks for your help!