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
INDONESIAN TRIBE UNTOUCHED BY MODERN LIFE

An Italian photographer travelled to the highlands of New Guinea where he met an Indonesian tribe untouched by the modern world .

NEW DELHI CHILD RAPE PROTESTS

NEW DELHI, A woman activist of India's main opposition Bharatiya Janata Party crosses a police barricade near the residence of ruling Congress party chief Sonia Gandhi during a protest against the recent rape of a five-year-old girl in New Delhi, India, April 21, 2013 .

SEXY TRAFFIC GIRLS OF NORTH KOREA

WITH their robotic movements and pristine uniforms, these are the sexy traffic girls of North Korea that are becoming iconic figures in the secretive state .

ARRR-DORABLE ONE-EYED PIRATE KITTEN

AN ADORABLE one-eyed kitten has been dubbed the 'pirate cat' because of his pirate-like facial expressions .

SLEEP PARALYSIS DREAMS TURNED REALITY

SITTING on a burning sofa unable to move, one man turns his terrifying dreams into reality .

TRIG-OF -THE- EYE STREET ART

At first glance what might look like ordinary rusty bridge and road railings, are in fact amazing works of art .

FIGHTING FOX IS BEATEN BY EAGLES

A fox takes a tumble and lands on his head when he tries to fend off a pair of eagles in Japan .

MIRACLE BABY SAVED BY SUPERGLUE

A miracle baby has overcome a one-in-five-million brain condition – after a blob of glue saved his life .

MUM REVEALS PREGNANCY ALLERGY

A first-time mum has told how she was allergic to her unborn baby after she developed an angry red rash all over her body .

BASHFUL ORANGUTAN

A young orangutan comes over all shy as she hides her face behind a broken bucket .

SLEEPY GROUNDHOG

WITH a paw in the air and his tongue hanging from his mouth, it is clear to see that this little groundhog is struggling to wake up and leave behind the comfort of his burrow .

FROG FRIENDS

PERCHED on a branch, these two frogs hold hands as they look into the camera .