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
TRAPPED IN THE BODY OF A 10 YR OLD: TEENAGE GIRL BORN WITHOUT HORMONES
She is about to start driving and soon will be able to legally buy alcohol and get married, but Poppy Webb-Jones still looks and thinks like a ten-year-old girl .
WOMAN TOO SCARED TO LEAVE HOUSE AFTER HORROR HAIR DYE REACTION
A woman who suffered from an allergic reaction to hair dye that made her face swell to twice its size has been left too scared to leave the house .
BACKFLIPPING SHARK SOARS DURING SEAL HUNT
Exploding out of the water, a great white shark performs a backflip during a hunt for seals .
LAZY LIZARDS RELAX AND POSE LIKE YODA
With one hand rested on his belly and the other propping his head up, this lazy lizard takes an afternoon break .
BEAUTIFUL LANDSCAPES CAPTURED ACROSS EUROPE
From the crisp, snow clad mountains to vivid bright blue rivers, these breath-taking photographs capture the incredible beauty of various landscapes across France and Italy .
THE EVOLUTION OF GLASTONBURY FESTIVAL
PEACE and love filled the 1980’s Glastonbury fields as relaxed festival goers kicked back and soaked up the atmosphere .
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 .
MAN LOSES 20 STONE AFTER FOOD ADDICTION RUNS UP £15K DEBT
A man has lost an incredible 20st after his addiction to food left him £15k in debt .
ADORABLE ORANGUTAN TURNS ONE
An adorable orangutan named Pongo celebrates his first birthday at Zoo Atlanta, Georgia, America .
FROZEN WATERFALLS
COURAGEOUS CLIMBERS scale frozen waterfalls in Canada, as the ice threatens to collapse beneath them .
SUPER CUTE BABY RED PANDAS
These adorable pictures show the moment two cuddly red panda cubs take their first look at the outside world and are weighed for the very first time .
AMAZING THUNDERSTORM LIGHTS UP THE SARDINIAN COAST
POWERFUL bolts of lightning illuminate the night sky in an incredible autumn storm over the Sardinian coastline .