DEEJAYKEG

It doesn't look like it, Johnny, but there is a brand called Robitussin that contains the same active ingredient, Guaifenesin. (Boots sell it, SOB.) The latest cough medicine we have found is called Bronchostop and it is also available in lozenges: http://www.bronchostop.co.uk/bronchostop/

Good luck with the job search, plague. Never a great experience but you may strike gold!

For decades I did not know what spring and summer flowers smelled like. I suffer from hayfever and, by the time the blooms were open, my symptoms were in full flow. Then, about 15 years ago, they eased off and I could smell the perfume of flowers for the first time. It was a memorable experience! An old work colleague of mine suffered a permanent loss of his sense of smell due to illness. He also produced the most noxious farts of anyone in the office (but looked puzzled when people recoiled from him!). SOB, have you tried a menthol inhaler since you became ill?

Brits will be aware of the launch of an online questionnaire that examines our behaviours and suggests ways in which we can live healthier lives. If you fancy having a go, here's the link to it: https://www.nhs.uk/oneyou/how-are-you I thought I'd share what it said to me shortly before the site crashed. I think my responses, eg that I am a chip-eater who looks after himself, may have broken it!

She's Maddy Prior. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maddy_Prior

Gaudete! Christus est natus!

I think the medics will want to look at him and Ozzy Osbourne when they depart! They seem to defy every advisory! If it is the Rapture, it rocks!

Status Quo guitarist Parfitt dead aged 68. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-38427459

(Belatedly.)

...played with a coffee stirrer!

Brain Salad Surgery remains one of my favourite albums.

Great news, fella. So how does the system work over there? Will you get to remain in your home area or have to move to wherever you're placed within Washington State? I am so pleased and relieved that things have become better for you.

ELP and King Crimson frontman, Greg Lake, has passed away due to cancer. http://www.planetrock.com/news/rock-news/greg-lake-dies-aged-69/

Be careful what you wish for... I cannot imagine what a wind chill of -26C feels like! http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/calgary/heavy-snowfall-warning-calgary-sunday-1.3880801

The tabloid "shock horror" story you linked to was published back in September and, to date, not a single snowflake has fallen here. The temperature has, so far, dropped to -6C in my area, but that sort of winter figure is not that unusual. What the chumps who write cr*p for tabloids feed upon is the ignorance of the people who buy their "newspapers", many of whom probably haven't experienced a real winter here yet. The response to snow is pathetic - only an inch needs to fall before the country enters a state of near paralysis. The Swedes, Norwegians, Germans and Canadians must laugh their socks off at us. I think back to the winters I experienced in the 1960s, clothed in shorts!

I'm with you, BB! We dispensed with the materialistic orgy of commercialism long ago and now give monetary gifts to kids only and small personal gifts to close family and friends (value <=£5). We choose one or more charities to support every Christmas. This year, we have chosen Lend With Care and shall be donating/lending to two entrepreneurs in the developing world to help them grow their businesses. We've also funded five Christmas lunches with the Salvation Army for the elderly/needy (a late reclusive aunt in London used to attend such events and the SA has been a favourite organisation for many years - "Belief In Action" means a lot.) Though I am perceived as a grumpy old fart for my demands that nobody waste their cash buying unwanted or unnecessary cr*p for me, the message is getting through at last! A good web site promoting an alternative Christmas is Advent Conspiracy.

We have isolated populations of yellow-tailed scorpions in the UK but I have never seen one (thankfully!). http://www.uksafari.com/scorpions.htm

Does this help?

A British family found an unwelcome visitor in their laundry following a vacation in Mexico recently... http://metro.co.uk/2016/11/21/family-return-home-from-exotic-holiday-and-find-scorpion-in-their-luggage-6273874/

Welcome to the forums, TrueBrit. Pleased you're enjoying the COD4 FT. If you play COD WaW, do pop over to our COD 5 servers too.

It's those that live under toilet seats that'd frighten me more... We have loads of different types here and, living in the countryside, we get to see many. One of my tasks during the daylight hours today is to get some wood kindling from a bin outside. There's a f***in' big spider guarding it! It's either a giant house spider or a labyrinth spider and has built a huge web all around the inside of the bin. I'll wear gardening gloves in case it bites... http://metro.co.uk/2016/09/06/uk-spider-identification-17-common-british-spiders-you-might-find-this-autumn-6110982/