Book excerpt: We live in an age of waffle, mumbo-jumbo and bad thinking. We're forever being fed dodgy information by so-called experts, scientists, opinion-makers, politicians, journalists and jumped-up little graduates. Their combined bad thinking includes: *the idea that no one should win in running races at school, in case the losers get upset *the idea that owning a house in France is a decent way to spend your money *the idea that we should all talk about our feelings and that would make things better *speed cameras *mineral water *hummus *and the fact that everyone reckons they've got asthma. Why do we believe this nonsense? Because, as a nation we've forgotten the basic elements of common sense. Thank God then for Al Murray. Together with the collecting thoughts of hia locals, he's here to put good old-fashioned British common sense back where it belongs.