I assume that those extolling the wonders of the War of the Worlds show at Castle Howard were seated in the direct line of sound.

My husband, seven-year-old son and I were seated just left of centre and about half way up the hill where, for two hours, we had to wait prior to the performance commencing.

We could just catch the top notes of the background music. Hearing any of the announcements was impossible and I very much doubt those sitting further back actually knew any had been made. When my husband went to ask about this he was told that when the performance started it would be very loud. Yes, the sound was certainly increased but to the extent that the speaker's voice was blurred and mostly inaudible.

It was abundantly obvious that the sound system was inadequate to cater for the huge area it had to cover and, knowing how many tickets they had sold, one would have thought the organisers might have thought of this. The fireworks were superb - no complaints about them - and I would like to comment on the excellent police arrangements after the show.

Mrs Vicky Gilbert,

Stockton Lane,

Stockton-on-the-Forest,

York.

Converted for the new archive on 30 June 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.