Just an update on the problem that I had with Nick Gammon's "too cool for school" code. The only problem with it was the person who connected the wiring to the matrix (me) 
It works a treat and as I initially stated is an elegant and concise piece of coding so thank you Nick. Thanks also to those who offered some suggestions as to how to fix it. You gave me the encouragement to stick at it until I sorted out what I had done wrong.
BluesBoy.