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
GIRL BEATS ANOREXIA AFTER MUM PLANS FUNERAL
A teenager has beaten anorexia after becoming so ill that her mum planned her funeral .
BABY BEARS COPY FIGHTING ADULTS
SITTING quietly at the edge of the lake, these two baby bears watch and learn as the adults hunt for fish .
OLD BUS TRANSFORMED INTO AMAZING HOLIDAY LET
FULLY equipped with a kitchen and lounge, it's hard to believe this modern holiday let is actually a BUS .
FISH AND BIRD TANGO
A trout manages to escape the jaws of a hungry cormorant - only to find itself back inside the bird's long beak .
SLOTH SANCTUARY
SNUGGLING up against their teddy bears, these baby sloths could easily be mistaken for one of the cuddly toys .
TUNNEL FOR VICTORY
What lies beneath this building site? Britain's great hope of winning the pre-WW2 arms race against Nazi Germany .
CHEEKY MONKEY KEEPS UP TO DATE WITH THE LATEST NEWS
A small Indian monkey is seemingly gob-smacked after reading the latest stock market news .
ADORABLE SHELTER DOGS STRIKE A ‘PAWS’ TO FIND FOREVER HOMES
A group of shelter dogs showcase their loveable personalities in a series of passport-style photographs - in the hope of finding their forever homes .
TEST COULD HAVE SAVED ME FROM CERVICAL CANCER AT 20
A young woman has told how she has been robbed of her fertility and now faces an uncertain future after she was diagnosed with cervical cancer at the age of just 22 .
EXERCISING OTTERS
A group of otters put on a show of aqua aerobics, as they raise their flippers perfectly in sync .
SCOTTISH COUPLE MARRY INSIDE BEAUTIFUL ICELANDIC CAVE
BEAUTIFULLY lit by the dim glow of lanterns, a cave in Iceland is transformed into the perfect wedding venue .
FIREFLIES ILLUMINATE AN ENCHANTING FOREST IN TAIWAN
Like a scene from a fairytale, THOUSANDS of fireflies create an enchanting glow as they dance in a forest .