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
UNUSUAL PUB AND BARBERS
A unique business in Birkenhead, Merseyside is sure to leave you HALF-CUT with its unusual pub and barbers combination .
'GO JUMP OFF A CLIFF' - GO COMPARE BILLBOARDS BEING DEFACED?
At first glance it might look like someone has taken their revenge on the makers of those infuriating insurance ads .
BETRAYED BY CANCER CON WOMAN!
Recovering from a rare form of breast cancer, Deborah Barnett, 43, of Stoke-on-Trent, thought she'd made it through the worst, but she was betrayed by former colleague Sandra Ramsay, of Mow Cop Road, Mow Cop, Stoke-on-Trent .
OWNER REUNITED WITH PETLOG CAT AFTER KEEPERS HAND HIM BACK
A family who were refused the location of their missing cat under the Data Protection Act have been reunited with their moggie after the keepers handed him back .
CHINESE FISHERMEN FISHING WITH RARE TECHNIQUE
SAILING peacefully across a river in the early morning light, a fisherman in China keeps a 1000 year old tradition alive .
WOMAN SPENDS £20K A YEAR ON 30 PET PUGS
Meet the dog-loving woman who spends £20k a year looking after her 30 pet PUGS .
ANTS IN TUG OF WAR
A trio of ants are locked in a tug of war over a fly as they pull the bug by its legs .
MILLION DOLLAR MARILYN - WOMAN MAKES FORTUNE AS LOOKALIKE
A former cosmetic rep who swapped make-up for a career as a Marilyn Monroe lookalike has pocketed a staggering $4million (£2,630,000) as a full-time doppelgänger .
GENTLE WHALE SHARK GIANTS FEED UNDER FISHERMAN’S BOAT
A group of whale sharks gather to feed underneath a fisherman’s boat off the coast of Papua, Indonesia .
TAXIDERMY ART BOOK
A KITTEN'S teaparty and rat's playing dominoes are the bizarre creations by one of Britain's great eccentrics pictured in an incredible new book .
ADORABLE ORANGUTAN TURNS ONE
An adorable orangutan named Pongo celebrates his first birthday at Zoo Atlanta, Georgia, America .
MONKEY WITH UNCANNY RESEMBLANCE TO MARVEL COMICS’ WOLVERINE
WITH his spiked ears and yellow and blue body, a colourful monkey bears an uncanny resemblance to Marvel Comics’ Wolverine .