We have designated this guitar as the Bluesville “Leros”.

 

Those of you who know me well will know that I wouldn’t have been here if my Dad hadn’t been so lucky to survive the opening of the Battle of Leros on the morning of September 26th 1943. So I have always felt a debt owed to the Island which you can find more on the facebook page I set up ~ Battle of Leros.

 

Leros is now facing another challenge as one of the Greek islands closest to Turkey, Leros has a burgeoning Migrant / Refugee population full of people who have nowhere to go. Consequently, they have been housed in a temporary migrant “hot spot” for a number of years now. A bad situation got worse in September 2020 with an outbreak of Covid 19 resulted in the camp being locked down by the Greek Army.

 

Echo100Plus is a charity which has been supporting the crisis on Leros for the past few years. Following the Covid 19 outbreak they launched an appeal to provide practical support (face masks / hand sanitiseres etc.) to the 1400 + residents of the Camp and also to the local population. We are happy to support the campaign in 3 ways :

 

Firstly our “Go fund me” Campaign in September 2020 offered one of our Bluesvillle “Leros” Guitars in a Prize Draw and raised £380 to add to the £14,000 plus total raised in support of the work of Echo100Plus.

 

Secondly, the Winner of our Prize Draw, Rick Butler, kindly donated his prize to the Echo Hub Education facility in Lakki, Leros Centre managed by Echo100Plus. We also sent them a Boss Katana Mini Amplifier and Deluxe EGB1 Gig Bag.

 

Echo10Plus have now moved their work to Athens, but the “Leros” Guitar remains on the island in the hands of the Cultural Group Artemis.

 

So a little bit about the Guitar…

 

The Bluesville “Leros” BV301 is based on a Classic design with a few twists which we hope will inspire the intermediate player who is progressing from their first guitar.

 

With a Solid Basswood body with Natural High Gloss finish and Honey Gloss Maple Neck / Fretboard, the BV301 offers a striking finish with optional Pearl White or Gloss Black Scratchplates at a surprising price….

 

Here’s my Blues for Leros…