Okay, let's start with a Christmas apology. Those of you who turned up here on Boxing Day expecting a new episode will doubtless be incandescent with rage that we didn't post one.

In the words of Doctor Who, we're sorry, we're so sorry.

The reason, much as I wish it was more exciting, was a simple broken Internet connection, and it was more time-consuming than usual to get it fixed because of the presence of Christmas.

But we're here now, and we've got a good episode to usher in 2009. In epiosde 60, we play a new game of Who's The Greatest, in which Dracula, The Mummy, The Wolfman and Frankenstein's Monster are tested against various odd benchmarks.

We also try to ascertain what Marconi plays in the Starship song We Built This City. Chris thinks it says “La Bamba”, Dave thinks “the bongos”, and the Internet reckons it's “the Mamba”.

Following the recording of this episode, we had a further delve into the world of knowledge, and here's what Wikipedia says a “mamba” can be:

Mamba, a genus of snakes
Mamba, a 1930 film
Armstrong Siddeley Mamba, an aircraft engine
Mamba (roller coaster), a hypercoaster
Mamba Armoured Personnel Carrier
Mamba (candy)
Mamba, the nickname of NBA player Kobe Bryant
Mamba, Tibet

We're also aware that it's a type of Adidas trainer. So, which of those things could Marconi be playing? I suppose it's possible that Marconi could be playing Kobe Bryant at basketball, but it seems somehow incongruous, and being British we know little of this “basket ball” of which you speak.

Your answers would be massively appreciated, especially if you're Bernie Taupin, Martin Page, Dennis Lambert, and Peter Wolf (they wrote the song), or a member of Starship (they sang it).

Marconi plays the Mamba, or the bongos, or La Bamba. YOU decide.

All silliness aside, both Chris and Dave wish you and the people who matter to you a very happy 2009.

If 2008 has been great, then here's to more of the same. If 2008 has been soul destroying, then here's hoping that ‘09 is so different as to be unrecognisable as a year at all.

We'll be back in a week, keep it sleek.

As Christmas time sweeps ever closer, and every store in the land battles ferociously to be the one sending us the most email, it's time to enjoy some free entertainment from The Blueprint.

Dave's encyclopedia knowledge of old James Whale horror films and less old but still pretty old mentalists comes into play this week. He also fights to get back into the Quotations game with the score at the start of this episode at 1-0 to Chris.

Received Pronounciation is what brings us onto the subjects of Frankenstein and mentalism, because of actor Ernest Thesiger's thorough use of the letters in words, and Polish mind reader Chan Canasta's unique way of speaking in a second language.

We're also possibly contacted by aliens, in the latest of a longish line of slightly odd things that people have either emailed to us, or said to us about our podcast.

Dr Praetorius and Chan Canasta both like Blake's 7.

It's business as usual for The Blueprint Podcast over Christmas, and we'll be back with our next episode at 5pm (UK Time) on Boxing Day (December 26th), so you can have a listen to us with your new Christmas mp3 players and computers.

We're straight into the action this week, with some discussion about the sinister nature of old school photographs when displayed in the homes of adults.

Chris says “literally” a bit too much, and Superman somehow gets involved again. We're always talking about Superman, us.

This takes us onto serial killers, and we hang around there for a while. Both Chris and Dave have ideas for a serial killer movie. Let us know which one you would rather go to see at your local cinema, or movie theater if you live in America, as many of you do.

Not many comedy podcasts will tackle serial killers for you, but we will. The more we listen to our movie ideas, the more we wish that we had easy access to rich movie producers. If YOU are a rich movie executive with decision-making powers, get in touch with us and we might let you make The Pizza Wheel Murders or I've Got Legs.

The Emperor Ming from Flash Gordon gets a long overdue telling-off for his misdeeds and general flaws in character. Other movie villains are also admonished for their low-quality execution of executions.

The Pizza Wheel Murders - if youre not dead in 30 minutes, he'll kill you for free.

We'll be back in but a week, make sure you've got us - click here to subscribe to The Blueprint Podcast using iTunes. IF you don't have iTunes installed on your computer, don't worry, it's a free download, and you can immerse yourself in the modern world of podcasts and stuff.

Episode 57 of The Blueprint Podcast, “Britain's best podcast with no famous people in it”, is here, with a message from Xavier Laurent, another hotly contested game Quotations, the best way of having a poo in space, and a delve into our completely fictional view of Arthur C. Clarke's more than mysterious world.

Please take the time to complete our Listener Survey, so that we know what sort of demographic is listening to us, and can tailor the podcast accordingly. For example, the last surveys we got all said “more talk about having a poo in space needed”, so we obliged!

Jet fighters chasing a B2 Bomber in the belief that it's a UFO. The pilots of the bomber also believe that they're aliens. Frankly it's an accident waiting to happen.

We'll be back next week, get in.

Episode 56 is a veritable smorgasbord of worldwide interest and competitive chat. Not only do we make a further attempt to speak to Xavier Laurent in France, but we have received an audio greeting all the way from the Netherlands.

We've also got a brand new game to play on the subject of quotations, which those of you who are fond of guessing things will adore.

We also chat about Indiana Jones' CV (that's his résumé if you're in the US), and some talk of hydrotherapy leads to an idea for criminal swimmers.

I was nearly late today, because there was a jam on the motorway! Ho ho!

We'd also like to take this opportunity to point you in the direction of some other great podcasts which are floating around the interwaves.

Collins and Herring's podcast is two famous guys enjoying a bit of chat and banter, and there are plenty of laughs in it, as well as lots of swearing. They're nice and long, at over an hour each, so if you're at the gym or on a long journey, make sure you take these two with you, as well as The Blueprint, of course.

Stephen Fry, possibly one of the world's busiest and most widely-talented living creatures, has some podcast episodes, or Podgrams as he prefers to call them. They are often incisive and incredibly interesting, whilst the belly laughs, when they come, are superb.

Yes, it's episode 55 of The Blueprint, the British talk radio podcast that brings you the fun behind the mysteries of language and truth, whilst transcending boundaries of distance, speed and endurance. Or something like that.

In this episode, we have another go at contacting our French friend, Xavier, using some cutting edge technology. It goes reasonably well, we think.

The big news this week is another exciting new feature called Real Or Phoney, in which we throw truth and lies around like confetti at the marriage of Mr Veracity to Miss Duplicity.

We hope you're enjoying the show, please drop us a line if you've got anything to say, ask, or complain to us about.

This lady is either demonstrating a sneeze for us, or this photo has something to do with one of Dave's other topics about the speed of bodily functions.

Join us for more Blueprint fun and laughter next week.

The theme of Episode 54 is most certainly that of language, and it's many uses. From Noel Coward's special way of speaking, through to Ozzy Osbourne's special way of singing, people certainly find their own ways to use language, and so do we.

Ever keen to embrace the wider world, we make attempts to contact a French podcaster (do you think he likes us?) and we hope to speak to him again soon.

To illustrate the success level of our French escapade, here's the metaphorical street that we ended up in:

Rue De Merde

We'll be back next week with more such talk, and more “Who's The Greatest” fun and frolics.

Welcome back to episode 53, in which Chris and Dave once again tackle the mighty issues of the day.

This week, after some parenting advice from Chris regarding Star Trek: The Next Generation, we're keen to settle once and for all the question of who's the greatest - Batman, Spiderman or Superman? As laymen in the superhero knowledge world, we don't use the usual set of criteria for judging such things, though. We've got our own ideas.

For example, with which of the three would you feel most uncomfortable if you were trapped with them, naked in a lift (elevator, American listeners). Which would make the best rabbi? You get the picture.

This week's visual aid constitutes proof of the result of the first “Who's The Greatest” contest.

Please take the time to fill in our Listener Survey - it only takes a minute or two, and it helps us to find out, broadly speaking, what sort of people we've got listening to the podcast. That in turn helps us to improve what we do.

The Blueprint Podcast returns for this weeks' adventure, and we're trotting the globe and getting to grips with Stephen Hawking and Barry White, among others.

More of Dave's pet hates are explored as we delve deeper into his inner fury, and find out why the letter “H” makes his blood boil.

In other stories, we've got it all sorted out for Professor Stephen Hawking, after Dave meets a party guest with some alarming views on the secret of the scientist's success.

What's more, if you're listening in America, Dave's got some kind words for you about your country, so that should make you feel good, whichever way you're planning to vote in your upcoming election.

Speaking of popularity contests, make sure that you join us next week on Friday, November 7th, when we'll be putting a few things into their proper places.

Stephen Hawking. He can fly.

Hello, hope you had a good week. We're back once again with episode 51 of The Blueprint Podcast, right here in the UK with Chris and Dave.

This week, we get to the heart of the Dave Russell phenomenon by discovering a couple of things that really grind his gears.

We warm up first with some talk of spherical stimulating toys for babies, and an astonishing Chris Fact is revealed, closely followed by a Chris Lie.

Astrology is described by Wikipedia as “a group of systems, traditions, and beliefs in which knowledge of the apparent relative positions of celestial bodies and related details is held to be useful in understanding, interpreting, and organizing information about personality, human affairs, and other terrestrial matters”. It's described by Dave as “nonsense”, and he pulls no punches with a scathing attack on the whole idea.

If you're a firm believer in newspaper horoscopes, please have a quiet word with yourself.

Binoculars, or more specifically their misrepresentation in the cinema, are Dave's second target, although Chris disagrees, and hilarity ensues.

It's all happening.

This week's image is the visual representation of Dave's hate.

We'll be back with Episode 52 at 5pm (UK Time) on Friday, 31st October. See you then.