Some of construction鈥檚 best and brightest battled it out at this year鈥檚 黑洞社区 Quiz, writes Jordan Marshall. Photography by Frank Moon
Back for the second year in a row the 黑洞社区 Quiz - held by Turner & Townsend alinea and Fieldfisher in aid of charity the 鈥 returned with a bang - with those in attendance all gathered to find out the answer to one question. Who was going to claim the title?
Held on 28 November at Fieldfisher鈥檚 central London office it is hard to imagine a better setting for a night of competitive quizzing.
With arrivals from 6pm those in attendance were blessed to make the most of the office鈥檚 stunning views, enjoying the glistening lights over the Thames from the law firm鈥檚 balcony with a drink in hand and rousing renditions of Say a Little Prayer, Don鈥檛 Look Back in Anger, and a mash up of With or Without You and She Will be Lobed from the band The Super Tenants.
At 6.30 teams made their way to their tables - ready for the first of eight regulation rounds covering a wide breadth of topics.
Hosted by Turner & Townsend alinea partner Kostas Dellas and Cecily Davis, construction and projects partner at Fieldfisher, teams鈥 general knowledge and common sense was pitted against one another not only in the regular quiz rounds, but also a series of Family Feud-style bonus rounds entitled Fieldfisher Fortunes (see box).
The contenders:
- Overbury
- Hydrock, now Stantec
- Greystar
- Fieldfisher
- The Missfits (a team made up of attendees from various organisations)
- Turner & Townsend alinea
- Canary Wharf
Round one saw the teams testing their geographical knowledge with 10 questions all about world. The round, which included, questions such as 鈥淲hat state is the Grand Canyon in? and 鈥淲hat is the largest country in the Commonwealth by land area?鈥 (The answers are Arizona and Canada for those playing at home), saw the first joker cards, which double a team鈥檚 score for that round, played. To do this a member of each team was required to stand on their chair and hold their card up before the first question had been asked.
In this round Overbury certainly made the right decision about playing their joker - scoring a perfect 10 and claiming the optimum 20 points.
Round two, which centred on the business world, was devoid of joker cards, and tested the players鈥 knowledge of various industries. Highlights from the round included players being asked 鈥淲hat food does Papa John鈥檚 sell?鈥 (Pizza) and 鈥淲hat leaf is the emblem of the National Trust?鈥 (Oak).
The first of the Fieldfisher Fortunes (see box) took place between rounds two and three, with the first head-to-head battle centering on beach day activities and fought between Hydrock, now Stantec and Canary Wharf.
The Epilepsy Society
The is the UK鈥檚 only charity transforming the lives of people with epilepsy through world-leading research, advocacy and care.
Through cutting-edge research, campaigns, information resources and expert care, the charity works for everyone affected by epilepsy in the UK, with a vision of a world where epilepsy is irrelevant and people with epilepsy lead the lives they want to lead.
Rounds three and four, involved questions that involved food and music. Particularly tricky questions in these rounds included 鈥漌hich UK bread manufacturer takes its name from the latin for strength of man?鈥 (Hovis), and 鈥淲hat word is in the tite of hits from The Police, Take That, and Queen?鈥 (Magic).
It was also the point where one of the most contentious points of the evening, with one team asking for a heads up on upcoming categories to decide when they would play their joker card. This caused some outcry from the teams who had already played their cards, proving that the competitive spirit is alive and well.
After some back and forth between participants, including one quipping that those who had already played their card could have shown the initiative to ask, Davis told
At this point dinner was served, with the Super Tenants returning to the room, to take requests including (I Can鈥檛 Get No) Satisfaction, Merry Christmas Everyone, and Back For Good.
Fieldsisher Fortunes
Across the night the captains of teams were called up two by two to battle it out in the head-to-head Fieldfisher Fortunes rounds.
Each pair competed to answer a survey questions asked to 100 people - the captain鈥檚 had to buzz in and whoever gave the answer that had been given by the most surveyed people was given a task - decide whether to pass or play.
If they chose to play, their team was required to provide all the answers on the board. If they passed, the other team had to do the same. The ten points was then awarded to the team that either completed the board, or their opponent should they fail to do so before achieving three strikes.
The questions posed included:
- Name something you do at the beach
- Name something people are afraid of
- Name something that goes on toast
- Name a Christmas carol
Explore some of the highlights in the gallery below.
In the second half of the quiz the competition only ramped up, with teams keenly tuned in wanting to ensure they secured every possible point.
Round five was one that favoured those of a scientific persuaion. Teams were asked to answer a series of questions featuring questions around the natural world.
Rounds six and seven flew by in a flurry of questions - with games and sport and TV and folm being the topics of exploration.
The final round tested contestants鈥 knowledge of famous indiviuals - while the all important bonus points on offer during the Fieldfisher Fortunes鈥 rounds continued to be pivotal.
With all the answers revealed it was time to wait for the final calculations to be carried out. After everything was said and done (and a few disputes) Greystar were announced as the winner in a very tight race ahead of Canary Wharf.
Hydrock, now Stantec claimed third place, while the closeness of the competition was sumemed up by the fact Fieldfisher and Overbury were deadlocked for fourth place.
The Missfits finished in sixth place, while Turner & Townsend alinea rounded out the field.
A huge thank you to everyone attended the night for an unforgettable evening as well as their support for the fundraising efforts for the Epilepsy Society.
The results:
- Greystar
- Canary Wharf
- Hydrock, now Stantec
- EQUAL - Fieldfisher & Overbury
- Missfits
- Turner & Townsend alinea