RON Guyon may have just celebrated his 90th birthday, but he has the body and mind of a man far younger.

And his fingers are still quite nimble too.

Ron, of Lechlade Road, Highworth, has been a church organist for more than 50 years.

Ron started his organ-playing career after gaining inspiration from books. But he didn't read them he played them.

"I seem to remember pretending a small bookcase was an organ, and the backs of the books were the keys, before I played a real one," he said.

"My father played the piano a little and was keen on organs and music, although he wasn't an organist. I think I became interested from that."

Since then, Ron has played more than 400 real organs of all shapes and sizes all over the country, and notched up 50 years as St Andrew's Church organist in Shrivenham.

Ron, who moved to Shrivenham from Somerset after the war, said: "I've played on organs in cathedrals right down to small parishes. The smallest one I ever played had only three stops, which are the part of the control mechanism. Bigger organs, such as in Salisbury Cathedral, have up to 100 stops."

As a young man Ron studied music at the Fellowship of the Royal College of Organists at Salisbury Cathedral but left to join the army.

He said: "I gave up music altogether when I signed up, which I regretted.

"My hands were badly damaged in an accident with a tank and I thought that was the end of playing the organ. But I did play again.

"After I was demobbed I came back to Shrivenham and started looking around parishes. I spent three years at Bishopstone parish before taking over at Shrivenham."

Now Ron, who lives with his daughter Vanessa, and 17-year-old granddaughter Hannah, plays one weekday service at St Luke's Church, in Broad Street.