At some time in the night I found myself listening to the "Messiah" and having my hair cut simultaneously. "Samson and Delilah" would have been a more appropriate oratorio, especially as a woman wielded the scissors. I was standing out in a large expanse of bare floor vaguely conscious of the snipping at the back of my neck, but more interested in the rendering of "Unto us a Child is born." The chorus was not large -- say forty -- and sang unaccompanied but with fair effect.