Merge pull request #169 from mgcam/devel

analysis_path accessor for top-level custon analysis directory
Merge pull request #170 from mgcam/devel

better implementation for handling git versions starting with a char
Merge pull request #171 from wtsi-npg/devel

pull request from wtsi devel to master to create release 77.2
Merge pull request #172 from wtsi-npg/master

pull from master (release 77.2) to devel