CCK, Views, Quicktabs + AJAX

I have a cck type called 'event' which holds details (date, venue, description etc) for a real world event.

My goal
On the side bar I want two tabs - one for 'Upcoming Events' and one for 'Past Events'. Each tab will display a list of events (either upcoming or past). When one of the actual events is selected from these lists, the main content area displays the full event details. Ideally I would like the selected event to be somehow highlighted on the sidebar list (like an active menu).

What I have
I have got most of the way using cck, views and quicktabs. The 'Upcoming Events' and 'Past Events' lists are view blocks displayed in quicktabs. Please see my screenshot.

The problem
Quicktabs is set with the 'Upcoming Events' tab as default. When a past event is selected the page reloads (loading the full event into the content area) and the tab display defaults to the Event tab. Obviously I need the 'Past Events' tab to be selected when displaying a past event (and ideally the selected node highlighted on the list).

Possible ways forward
I need the relevant 'events' quicktab to display and I would like the selected event to be highlighted on the events list.

• Should I be able to achieve what I want with cck, views and quicktabs? Is it simply a matter of tweeking what I have? I have tried all combinations of ajax parameters on the view and quicktabs.
• Can I add module(s) to what I have? Something to bring ajax functionality to the main content load perhaps?
• Can I set the default tab as the page loads? In an appropriate function I could set the default tab according to the view name or something along those lines. Clearly this stretching my knowledge.
• Or do I need to build a custom module using json? I have never done this but am prepared to give it a go. Just want to be certain I have no choice before setting off.

Any advice appreciated.

Thanks, Phil