L to R: Peter Maskell (Chief Executive BHSF Limited), Adam Mountford, James Parks, Nicholas Cobill, Stephen Whitaker, Steven Reed, Nichola Preston, Orla Grant, Lee Preston. 
 
Noddy Holder, formerly of pop group Slade, is used to number ones but he recently got to know No5 as the Steelhouse Lane barristers’ Chambers beat off all the competition to win the 2012 Marie Curie Birmingham Brain Game. The annual Midlands’ showcase quiz was hosted by Walsall legend Noddy, with special guests including Bill Oddie, Kay Alexander, John Altman and Ed James contributing to the fun at the ICC where the event was held. 
 
A record amount of money was raised and teams from the legal and other business sectors competed. Nicola Preston captained No5 Chambers, which secured victory in a sudden death eliminator against Squires Sanders. The evening was rounded off by the news that the quiz and auction had raised a staggering £145,000. 
 
This astonishing amount will go towards Marie Curie’s project to build a brand new hospice for the West Midlands in Solihull, costing around £20 million and due to open in January 2013. Fund raising activities, including No5 Chambers’ Ralph Lewis QC Memorial Cup – a popular fixture in Birmingham’s annual boxing calendar – have raised much of that amount but more is still needed. 
 
Tony McDaid, Practice Director of No5 Chambers comments: “We have growing links with Marie Curie, having raised more than £50,000 for them over the last 2 years via our charity White Collar boxing event. It seems fitting, given our relationship, that we have now won the Marie Curie Brain Game shield for the second time. The evening is always competitive yet fun and, most of all, it sees the Birmingham business community join forces to raise much needed funds for a worthy cause”.
 
Visit https://www.mariecurie.org.uk/en-gb/donate/directdebit/ should you wish to make a donation to Marie Curie. Boxing fans or wannabe contenders interested in the Ralph Lewis QC Memorial Cup 2013 should contact No5 Chambers’ Marketing team via marketing@no5.com or 0845 210 5555.