A month or so ago, I had the pleasure of stepping back into my role as quiz master for the second annual Lanware Bull vs Bear quiz, this time held at the new Balls Brothers venue. Following the success of last year’s event, we upgraded to a bigger space to accommodate even more eager minds from across London’s financial services sector. The atmosphere was electric, and the crowd couldn’t wait to get stuck in—both to the trivia and the refreshments.
To keep the competition fierce, 80 points were up for grabs across eight carefully crafted rounds, each designed to challenge quizzers on their specialist subjects. We brought back some much-loved classics while also keeping things fresh with new twists. The legendary “Service Station or Cheese?” round made a triumphant return, and this year’s tasting round was something special too: quizzers put their palates to the test, identifying herbs and spices, some trickier than others, but the effort certainly spiced up the evening (sorry, couldn’t resist!).
And the winners are…
Congratulations to “The Bull & Blair Witch Project”, who topped the leaderboard with a fantastic 62 points out of 80, proving themselves true masters of trivia. Hot on their heels were “Inside Jokers” in second place with 60.5 points, and “Phishing For Answers” in third with a well-deserved 57 points. The margin was close, and every round counted, especially with the herbs and spices tasting challenge throwing up a few surprises!
A huge thank you goes to…
We would like to extend our heartfelt gratitude to all our sponsors, whose support helped make the night a roaring success - Steel-Eye, 2&20, and Drawbridge, who also kindly sponsored the bar.
A special shout-out goes to our brilliant team of organisers: David Mansfield, for masterminding the event location and invite list; Siobhan Evans-Webb, for once again delivering an organisational masterclass across the venue, the answer sheets, and the quiz merch; and of course, for leading the marking efforts with the able assistance of Anita Scocarrio - a newbie to our quiz team who absolutely nailed it and kept her eagle HR eye on any team shenanigans.
Highlight of the night…
By overwhelming popular demand, “Service Station or Cheese?” returned to the delight (and occasional confusion) of all. The simple premise, guess whether the name belongs to a roadside stop or a cheese, once again provided plenty of laughs and some surprisingly fierce debate. We even gave some of the cheeses away as a raffle prize, just to prove their authenticity.
The herbs and spices tasting round was another crowd-pleaser, challenging everyone’s senses and adding a fragrant twist to the proceedings. Top marks went to the team that managed to identify nearly every flavour correctly, and there’s always next year for those who fell short!
All for a good cause…
The evening was not just about competition but also about community and giving back, as all proceeds went to HFC (Help for Children UK). Thank you to every quizzer, sponsor, and volunteer who made the night so memorable. We’re already looking forward to next year’s Bull vs Bear quiz, where you can expect more teams, more banter, and, although I’m not sure we have enough Service Stations or Cheeses left to choose from, we will find something else to fill the gap of this favourite round!
