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.
THESE are the Disney Princesses you wouldn't want to run into in a dark alley .
The family of a disabled boy who died in a tragic accident at a care home have received a four figure payout after an inquest heard carers allowed him to fall rather than restrain him because of "health and safety" fears .
A young mum-to-be who was told she would never fall pregnant due to a rare condition has decided to keep her miracle baby even though his birth could leave her paralysed and in pain forever .
Meet the Victorian gentleman who could not face sitting next to smelly commuters on the bus - so he dodges danger to go to work on a penny farthing .
Forget One Direction and Cheryl Cole, a new calendar is celebrating Britain's real heroes - the nation's most inspiring mums .
Exploding out of the water, a great white shark performs a backflip during a hunt for seals .
Pic By Graham Gibson/ HotSpot Media - SHARK HYPNOTIST BALANCES SHARK IN PALM OF HIS HAND- In Pic - Diver Tom and Caribbean reef sharks in the Bahamas- A SHARK hypnotist balances these predators in the palm of his hand by sending them to sleep with a gentle nose rub .
A Kermit the Frog toy made famous by travelling the world is still globehopping, having racked up an incredible 420,000 kilometres to some of the world's furthest flung places .
A good samaritan who came to the aid of a rape victim has told how they were turned away from the Salvation Army because "they only help men" .
NOT YOUR everyday selfie, this plucky diver poses with some of the scariest predators in the ocean .
A pair of adorable polar bear cubs play-fight with each other in the Alaskan snow .
A host of websites that are almost twenty years old are collecting a cult following thanks to their retro appeal .