Do you know how to remove chewing gum from your sofa or protect yourself from bubonic plague? Where is the best place to rub a green onion? What does it mean for the weather if a bat lands on your head and refuses to fly away?

'Good Old-fashioned Advice' is an eccentric mixture of folklore, old wives' tales and time-honoured advice - and most of it actually works! There's stuff we've all forgotten how to do properly, like iron a shirt or how to behave at the opera. There are money saving ideas and hangover cures, gardening knowledge and parenting tips - in fact there's heaps of seasoned help from the quaint to the downright peculiar.

Yeah, sure you think you know how to eat sushi or fold a napkin, but after reading this book you'll agree that good advice should be written down and passed through the generations. Some of it is complete nonsense, of course, but that's up to you to decide!

This timeless collection of old-fashioned wisdom and lore will help you get back to basics, from the essentials of good manners to money-saving ideas, making the perfect cup of tea to curing a hangover.

Michael Powell is a bestselling author of over twenty-five books for both children and adults, including two titles in this series, 'Ask Your Father' (1861058608) and 'How to Live with a Woman' (1861058683). Before becoming a writer he trained at RADA and spent several years as an internationally unknown actor and musical director. He lives in Somerset with his wife and two young children.