Disassemble the piece first. Take it apart. Then take a hacksaw and cut what you need off, then reassemble it.

That would work BUT the piece screws into the base. So I can't cut that piece out. I'm thinking if I got about half way up, thread the wire up through the hole and then "pop" out the thingy that holds the bulb in and refit it back into the scrw part. Hope I made some sense in that. I do think that is what I need to do. Definitely make sure when I use a hacksaw that I don't cut through the wire.

Thanks for your help.

Perk2 - did you try shortning the candle yet? I would be interested in that if it can be done...