A UNIQUE guitar signed by 31 Scottish celebrities is set to raise over £20,000 for charity.
Hollywood’s Ewan McGregor and James McEvoy, Andy Murray, Chris Hoy, Billy Connolly, Emeli Sandé and David Tennant are among the stars to have signed the Saltire-design guitar along with former Aberdeen and Manchester United supremo Alex Ferguson.
It took six years to collect the signatures which will go under the hammer at Aberdeen’s fine dining festival, Signature, and has a minimum starting bid of £20,000.
Other lots in the online auction include original paintings from artists John Byrne, Iain Faulkner and Alexander Miller, restaurant experiences, luxury hotel stays, and designer handbags.
A piano dubbed The Lawman Piano – painted in tribute to Denis Law being granted the Freedom of Aberdeen and signed by the former footballer – has a starting bid of £3000.
The auction is being held to raise funds for Signature’s adopted charity, Friends of the Special Nursery – the neonatal unit at Aberdeen Maternity Hospital.
Proceeds will be split with Friendly Access Scotland, which provides surfing adventures for children affected by autism, cancer and lifelong disabilities.
It was the charity’s founder, Glyn Morris, who spent the past six years persuading celebrities to add their autographs to the Saltire guitar.
Signature is Aberdeen’s first fine dining festival and takes place at the Chester Hotel from November 4 to 16.
World class patissier-chocolatier William Curley will kick the event off with an afternoon tea, including a performance from UK soul singer Beverley Knight, with exclusive tasting menus from Mark Greenaway, Glynn Purnell, Atul Kochhar, Martin Wishart, Jeff Bland and Roy Brett in the days to follow.
Graham Wood, owner of the Chester Hotel and the driving force behind Signature, said he expected the guitar to generate a significant amount of interest.
“The main idea behind Signature was to bring some of the nation’s top chefs to Aberdeen to provide a culinary experience like no other,” he said. “The fact that we are able to use the fine dining festival as a platform to help these charities which do so much to support families from across the north east and Scotland is an added bonus.”
Auction bids can be placed at www.signaturefundraiser.com.
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