Congratulations to Derek Hopkins for taking down his fifth Greasy Pole flag!
Derek was the second walker after the courtesy round. He grabbed the flag but not to a final victory, as it was left dangling, the third time that has happened over the course of the 2023 Greasy Pole contest. The dangling flag happened yet again (#4), this time midway through the first round.
At the top of the second round, Derek got a great hold and captured the flag. Not getting a firm hold and leaving the flag to dangle is a very unusual occurrence, and rarely happens even once in a competition, let alone four times.
Greasy Pole Walker phenom Dereck Hopkins captured the flag on the second walk of the first round. It wasn’t unexpected, as he strolled out to the very end of the Greasy Pole on the second walk of the courtesy round. Congratulations to Derek!
Note to the GP Walkers – Although there was no Greasy Pole due to coronavirus, I was hoping to have this long overdue short completed for the 2020 Saint Peter’s Fiesta weekend, just to cheer everyone up. My son broke several ribs on Friday and instead of editing over the weekend, I was taking care of my family. He’s on the mend and today was my first chance to finish editing. Better late than never I hope.
Viva!
Congratulations to 18 year old Derek Hopkins for winning Gloucester’s Greasy Pole Friday, Saturday, and Sunday competitions!
Derek is only the second walker to win the Friday, Saturday, Sunday trifecta, after Jake Wood (1999).
Derek’s Dad, Rich Hopkins captured the flag in 1996 and 1997. Derek and his Dad are the fourth father-son duo to win the flag.
Note about the music – Eh, Cumpari! or Hey, Goombadi! is a Sicilian song we hear playing often during Fiesta. Sung by Julius La Rosa and released in 1953, it is a cumulative song, in which each verse contains all the previous verses.
From wiki – a rough translation –
Hey buddy, [music] is playing.
What is playing? The whistle.
And what does it sound like—the whistle?
[vocalized instrument sound]
the whistle, [rhythm words]
.
u friscalettu = whistle [small flute]
u saxofona = saxophone
u mandulinu = mandolin
u viulinu = violin
la trumbetta = trumpet
la trombona = trombone
