Originally Posted by pdxtex

maybe its an air quality issue. that might explain the sore throat. where in the UK do you live....ever hear of this 20th century incident? probably not if you live in america. but....http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Smog. basin cities or lots of places where they burn wood in the winter have air quality problems when its foggy. i live in portland and we get inversions all the time. wood smoke and car exhaust can be gnarly this time of year.