Thank you for your reply. You are quite right about not putting anything up Max' nose, might push it further in, I did dip a cotton bud in olive oil and cleaned just inside his nose, but he was not comfortable with that.
He quite liked being massaged on either side of his snout, which caused more sneezing but nothing was dislodged.
I am on the Island of Corfu, no vet available until monday, so will give him lots of loving and watch him carefully and hope that whatever it is will dislodge itself over the weekend. Maria