GEORGES Lepelley is known to many in Ilkley as Rotarian, Ilkley-in-Bloomer, Ilkley-Coutances Twinning Committee and Club Francophone stalwart, among other guises.

On July 13, at a ceremony at Coniston Hall, he was made Maître Compagnon by the Compagnons du Beaujolais. This organisation, in the tradition of those in French wine-growing regions, exists to promote the wines of the Beaujolais area beyond the Rhône valley.

Its leading lights are John O’Garra, who conducted the ceremony, and Luc Daguzan, owner and chef of the Bistro des Amis in Skipton, where the Compagnons are based.