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
THE LITTLE MER-WIFE: DISNEY-THEMED WEDDING CREATES A SPLASH

It’s the must-have for any true Disney fan: a Little Mermaid themed wedding .

THREE'S A CROWD

SWOOPING down from the sky, this agitated eagle is looking for a fight .

INTIMATE PORTRAITS OF INDIANS

An Italian photographer travelled to northern India where he visited poverty stricken suburbs and captured ordinary people in a series of intimate and expressive portraits .

FROM KEBAB TO KE-BABE: WOMAN DROPS 13ST AFTER FOOD ATTACK

A woman has lost an incredible 13st after a group of men cruelly threw a kebab at her as she walked down the street .

POLAR BEAR HUG

LYING back in the snow, these two polar bears share a cuddle as they call time out on playtime .

HOUNDTON TABBY

FROM MRS Patmore to Lady Sybil, these barking mad illustrations show the WOOF-er side of some of our most loved Downton characters .

BACK TO BASICS HOTEL

CAMPED out in the middle of a forest, these unusual hut hotels take you back to basics .

JEAN- IUS DIET: 24ST MUM LOSES 12ST THANKS TO JEANS DIET

A mum-of-three lost half of her body weight after her daughter was teased by playground bullies for having a 'fat mum' .

COUPLE TIE THE KNOT IN SPECTACULAR £45K HARRY POTTER WEDDING

A couple have tied the knot in a spectacular Harry Potter-themed wedding which cost £45,000 .

A HOLE LOT OF TROUBLE! - WOMAN HAS PHOBIA OF HOLES

Meet mother of four, Jackie Wright, whose bizarre fear means she is terrified of HOLES .

ADORABLE OWLS SHELTER FROM THE RAIN

HUDDLING under a leaf, a pair of adorable Javan scops owls take shelter from the rain .