AS the country moved into lockdown, one of the parts of life which was most missed was a trip to the pub for the monthly quiz night.

Being huddled around a table sharing possible answers to random questions has become a great British pastime but quizmaster Julian Roper was not going to be beaten by a little lockdown.

Instead he went online and now he is exploring whether it could even become a new living.

IF there is one thing which has helped lighten the mood during this unprecedented lockdown period then surely it is virtual pub quizzes.

Although none of us can go down to the local and grab a refreshing pint, apparently we are all still keen to test our grey matter from the comfort of our own homes by online quizmasters.

One man who is trying to take advantage of this is Julian Roper.

The dad-of-four has used the time after being furloughed from his job as a regional sales director in London to hone his questioning skills for his new project Corporate Quiz Hire.

Julian, who lives in Copford, is hoping to bring a different dimension to quizzing.

“I have always loved a quiz and over the last few years have got into being a quizmaster in quite a big way,” he said.

“My involvement came about as an extension of MC-ing which I’ve always done. It started with some charities and got into schools via my children.

“I then fell into doing it for some of my day job clients after talking to one of them who was about to procure the services of an online company for a lot of money for an evening’s work.

“I offered to do it for free and they bit my hand off. I went down a storm and people kept asking me back.

“I’m a bit of a showman with a love of comedy and a pun. I’ve even tried stand up and enjoy trying to make people laugh and always have done.

“What differentiates me from the average run of the mill quiz host is my interactive style.

“I don’t sit behind a laptop and just read out questions then answers. I love to walk around and work a room.

“It’s the entertainer in me I guess and people love my approach.”

After another hit quiz before lockdown in February to corporate clients, Mr Roper decided to try to ramp up his efforts.

He is already the quizmaster at Colchester Royal Grammar School and Colchester County High School for Girls and is planning another for Braiswick Primary School where his children either go now or have attended.

Question and answer sessions are also staple affairs at the rugby club where he coaches in Sudbury.

However, he believes his unique style could be a legitimate business in the corporate world.

“The coronavirus pandemic and subsequent time spent at home on furlough has given me the legitimate time to work on this, firstly by setting up a website, a Facebook page and then by beginning to market to certain contacts and friends outside of the construction industry that I am involved in,” he said.

“There aren’t many people out there doing what I am offering for businesses. We, in the UK, have a peculiar love for the quiz night down at our local and it is this passion that is giving me some momentum and making me truly believe that my idea has got legs.

“My original intention was to focus on setting up quiz nights for companies post lockdown but it is apparent that people want to organise online social events now during social distancing for their colleagues and in some cases, their clients too.

“I ran my first online quiz for a wealth management firm in London followed quickly by two more, one with a finance company and their blue chip clients and another with a waste management and energy solutions company.

“I was a bit nervous because I can work a room but I didn’t know about using the technology but it went well.

“It is a bit different because if you are out in a team of seven it doesn’t matter if you don’t know the answer as long as someone in your team does.

“But if you are sat at home doing it yourself and it is too difficult you are going to switch off.

“I have also contacted Colchester Hospital to offer my services to host a fun quiz evening by way of a thank you to the staff which I obviously would not charge for.”

Julian is always working on his bank of interesting questions and emails himself whenever a strike of inspiration hits.

“If there are lots of teams, and you know you are probably not going to win, then the last thing you want to do is finish last.

“We have all been quizzing during the lockdown, it is a very British thing and gives me hope there is legs in this.”

For more information visit corporatequizhire.co.uk or search for the business on Facebook.