British Hotel Bans F-Word

A British hotel, Linthwaite House Hotel in the picturesque Lakes District, is offering football-free breaks for "soccer widows" desperate to escape wall-to-wall coverage of the World Cup. Any guest who overhears a member of staff mentioning the f-word ("football") will be given a free glass of champagne. The sport supplements are being taken out of daily newspapers and, instead of blanket TV coverage of the big games, guests will be offered a string of romantic movies on DVD such as Dirty Dancing and Pretty Woman. According to the hotel manager, the bookings are starting to stream in. The World Cup finals in Germany start on June 9, with the final in Berlin on July 9.