So "people just don't like voice synthesisers that sound too realistic" (Is Stephen Hawking music to the ears?, Education, 17 January). Many people passing through King's Cross underground station in London are certainly bothered by the voice used on the public address system there. Among several anomalies ("Jubilee" comes out as something Venusian), the worst is at the start of every announcement: "Ladies and gentwoman …"
Of three totally different explanations I have received from members of staff, the weirdest yet most plausible is as follows: "We are now linked with St Pancras International, and therefore need a voice that can be understood by all international travellers. It was decided, therefore, to end the use of human voices, with their accents, dialects and susceptibility to coughs and colds. It is simply impossible to get some words right using the new, computer-generated sound system." There may, of course, by another, totally correct explanation. I would like to hear it.
Dr Bernard Dixon
Ruislip Manor, Middlesex