GRASSINGTON Festival's former artistic director Rowena Leder has been awarded an MBE in the New Year's honours list.

Mrs Leder - who is known as Bunty - was honoured for her tireless work organising the festival and concerts for Skipton Music Society.

But this week she paid tribute to the dedication of other committee members who, she said, deserved to share the award.

She celebrated her award with 50 guests at her Grassington home on New Year's Day.

Mrs Leder said: "I was stunned. It was a complete shock. I could not have done it without the other committee members. There is huge camaraderie between us.

"Some members have been helping for up to 15 years.

"The best thing I will take from it all is the friendships that I have made. It was lovely seeing all the pleasure people got from the artistes we have brought to Grassington. It's good for tourism."

Mrs Leder, of Lythe Cottage, will be presented with the award sometime in March or April.

She explained: "Because my initial is L, I am some way down the list. It could be the Queen doing the honours, or Philip or even Anne."

She took control of Grassington Festival in 1988 and since then it has grown in popularity. Now each year internationally renowned artistes perform at the event.

"The festival got bigger and bigger every year and people expected more and more. I was not satisfied with standing still. If you stand still you start going backwards," she said.

As well as accommodating international stars, Mrs Leder once had the more unusual task of finding accommodation for a group of Tibetan monks.

She stood down as artistic director last year.

Mrs Leder is a former Bluebell Girl who performed around the world including Paris, Las Vegas and Beirut.

She also worked as an international air stewardess for BOAC (now BA) and lived in London throughout the swinging sixties.

She paid tribute to her American-born husband, Robert, for his support: "He is expecting a medal from George Bush for being a long suffering husband of 18 years."

o Barnoldswick Town's 91-year-old physiotherapist was also awarded the MBE in the New Year's honours list.

Syd Parkinson, who also started a team while working at Rolls-Royce, Barnoldswick, has been involved with local football for 75 years.

More details about his award appear on page 28.

o North Yorkshire's chief constable Della Cannings has been awarded the Queen's Police Medal in the honours list.

It rewards 30 years of police service, three of them as the county's chief constable.

"I receive this award with enormous pride, not just for myself but for all those police officers and police staff who work every day to do their best for our communities," she said.