Waking every morning with only one question, 'How shall I fill my day today?' is perhaps the biggest gift one can have; so much time! Yet it tempts idleness. I was determined today not to let my waking in the early afternoon prevent me from making full use of the present. I wondered around Savigny Platz (the only area in the West I go by choice...), where later a friend joined me in a vegetarian restaurant - perfect for those with a taste for Indian food, and more time than sense. The service was beyond appalling - which only made it funny, if a little frustrating - as we were to brave the city outskirts this evening...

I had been in contact with a German Gospel Choir (yes, they exist!), and had read about an upcoming concert. After using three new S-Bahn lines, we got to the station - encountering a woman peeing freely in the street and true Berlin-style unemployment culture - and started walking. It was totally dark, and as if in some biblical vision a giant light shone from a school-like building. We walked in as the 20-strong choir sang the classic 'Oh, Happy Day' - and until you've heard this with a strong German accent - you haven't lived.

That was about all we heard, as the concert finished just after that.. We were 45 minutes late - and hey, these guys start on time! The journey home was a delight in itself, as we treated fellow passengers to Christmas Carols (with harmonies) and extended scene re-enactments from Catherine Tate. There was time enough for these as not only did we take the wrong line - we also took it in the wrong direction, leaving us singing Oh, Little Town of Bethlehem to the cleaner who motioned that this was the end of the line.

We arrived safely, nearly two hours later laden with ice-cream and DVDs. And, as it nears my bedtime, which sadly hasn't been before 4am over the last few days, with Little Women's film score still playing from the end of the movie - I brush my teeth watching as the city around me is coated in a deep sleepy snow.

Sleep tight