REAL LIFE VICTORIAN
A woman has taken her house back in time - by spending £10,000 to transform it into her Victorian dream home. Quirky spinster Julia Wood, 42, lives her life like a 19th century lady and can often be seen leaving her terraced house wearing ankle length velvet and carrying a parasol. The self confessed "eccentric" has transformed all five rooms of her property in Leicester with late 19th or early 20th century decor. Her lounge, bathroom, bedroom and kitchen are filled with antique furniture, fireplaces and artefacts and even nude portraits complete with lighting from the period. She has a large mahogany mantle piece in her lounge and sips tea from an 1890s crockery set she says she bought for just £10. Her kitchen, which also acts a sitting room, includes an Edwardian day bed, wood burning stove, antique tub chair, pine table and even a black fridge. The author and writer, who has lived in the home for two years, is an avid Oscar Wilde fan and says she lives her life like a character from one of this plays. She said: "I must have a Victorian or Edwardian aura. I was just born in the wrong era. But Downton Abbey has changed things lately. Sales of long gloves have gone up hugely, I understand. All of a sudden I'm in fashion.
Other great stories
SINGLE WOMAN GRANTED NHS IVF HAS BABY AFTER 3 MISCARRIAGES
A single woman, who was granted IVF funding on the NHS, finally has a baby after suffering three miscarriages .
N-ICE DAY FOR A WHITE WEDDING: COUPLE WED ON GLACIER
When couples talk about wanting a white wedding, few will be referring to getting hitched on a glacier sat on top of an active volcano .
THEY'RE BEHIND YOU!
SURROUNDED by tens of thousands of fish, this outnumbered diver is dwarfed by a mass of sea life .
IPAD GAMES FOR KITTIES TURNS THEM INTO PI-CAT-SSO
Is your cat bored? Do his usual playthings simply not do it for him anymore? Not to worry - there's an app for that .
MOUNT BROMO METEOR SHOWER
A SPECTACULAR array of stars fills the night sky as they soar over this active volcano .
THE ENCHANTING FOREST OF FIREFLIES
WITH the phosphorescent blobs and mesmerising patterns, these spectacular images may look like the hall marks of an enchanted forest but it is in fact the scene of thousands of dancing FIREFLIES .
MENINGITIS TOT TAKES FIRST STEPS ON NEW LEGS
A little girl who lost all four limbs to meningitis has taken her first steps since the illness thanks to her new 'Princess legs' .
ABANDONED CALIFORNIAN GOLD RUSH TOWN
A once bustling gold rush town in Mono County, California now stands completed deserted .
FEARLESS CHEF SLAMS TRIPADVISOR REVIEWS WITH HILARIOUS INSULTS
FOR most restaurateurs, the phrase ‘the customer is always right’ is gospel .
SUPER FROG - FLYING FROGS TAKE OFF
LIKE SUPERMAN carrying a slimy Lois Lane through the air this frog is treating its mate to a flying lesson .
WOMAN CRUELLY NAMED ’TUMOUR GIRL’ FINDS LOVE
A woman who was cruelly called ‘tumour girl’ by bullies has finally found love .
TWO FIRES ON MY WEDDING DAYS, EXACTLY ONE YEAR APART BUT WE MARRIED ANYWAY
On June 23, 2017, Coral Denakis, now 27, woke up on the morning of her wedding day to find a car on fire outside her hotel .