EVERY year the Chesham Bell Ringers mark the start of Christmas Day and New Year's Eve with a cacophony of chimes. VICTORIA BIRCH speaks to a dedicated member of their team.

WHILE most people go to parties on Christmas and New Year's Eve to celebrate the season with a drink or two, the Chesham Bell Ringers spring into action to mark the event by entertaining hundreds of church-goers.

John Woolley, of Stanley Avenue, Chesham, has been a loyal campanologist for the past 40 years, and rings for more than five hours a week with his 11-strong team.

But this year their schedule is packed-solid with events, as they will be ringing an hour before Christmas Eve and will also be chiming in New Year's Eve for about an hour over midnight at St Mary's, in Church Street, Chesham.

Then they will dash to the church at Little Missenden to ring for the Midnight Communion. At different times over the season they will even have to ring up to three times a day.

Despite all this they have also spent hours in the lead-up to Christmas taking part in various church carol services in the area.

John, in his early 60's, added that people sometimes walk past the church on Christmas and New Year's Eve, hear the bells and climb up the spiral steps to see the ringing team.

He said: "We have had people on their way back from the pub or a party and they just turn up. We don't let them have a go on the bells though."

John said he loved spending so much time chiming to the community and is pleased that his wife is also a member of the team.

He said: "It makes it a lot easier if my wife and I both do it even if it is not at the same time there is an understanding of what ringing is all about.

For some it is just a hobby that takes a part of your time and for others it takes over your life.

"Although we ring for hours at a time our arms don't ache too much doing it. It is more technique than strength. There is an actual skill on how to pull the rope. If the technique is right it doesn't matter how big you are."

For some though it can take years to perfect the art of campanology. The team stop the clapper when learners are in training as John says the constant noise can be very irritating. When the team are together and they are fully trained, they learn various patterns before they start the ringing.