Thanks Keith,
Xlights running E1.31 appears to offer the most flexibility. It also looks to have a bunch of gurus in here that can help me fix things when it all goes pear shaped.
There's a guru or 2 around. Any later than 30 November is a bit late to start looking at getting going but earlier than that you can get things going pretty quick if you put in some effort and ask lots of questions. Is easier to do if you've got someone to talk to in person but chat, zoom and teamviewer can really get things done in a hurry.
You're absolutely right. They're getting a couple of led strip lights and apparently a fan for when it gets hot. I'm sneaking in some extra points to run the lasers I'm using to light the foliage around the pool.