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 ANIMAL FRIENDSHIP
SAT ON top of a Brazilian turtle’s head, this little ladybird looks content as he studies his environment from a new height .
DOG SO CLOSE TO DEATH AFTER SWALLOWING NEEDLE
A dog was SOW close to death after she dangerously swallowed a two-inch NEEDLE-Cute Shih Tzu Daisy could have pierced her intestines after eating the long needle and thread after finding it on the carpet .
HUBBY DRUGGED THEN RAPED ME FROM AGED 15 AND I GOT JUSTICE 30 YEARS LATER
Tina O’Brien, 54, from East Midlands, met Frederick Allchorne, now 62, when she was 15 .
I BLAME MYSELF FOR MY DAUGHTER’S ANOREXIA
WENDY Randall, 16, from Kent is now training to be a bodybuilder after recovering from anorexia .
MYSTERY OF THE CROOKED COTTAGE
THIS is the fascinating abandoned house, complete with mystery portraits and homely items, that has been dubbed - crooked cottage .
ADORABLE DOLPHINS VISIT AUSTRALIAN BEACH FOR BREAKFAST
SWIMMING slowly towards the shore, a small group of bottlenose dolphins arrive for breakfast at a beach in Western Australia .
WOMAN TRANSFORMS HERSELF INTO CARTOON CHARACTERS USING PAINT
A makeup artist from the West Midlands magically transforms herself into famous cartoon characters using body paint .
AURORA BOREALIS ILLUMINATES LAPLAND
From vivid greens to glowing pinks, the colours of the aurora borealis fill the night sky above a snow covered Lapland .
WOMAN'S SKIN TURNED SILVER AFTER TAKING NOSE DROPS
An American woman whose skin turned silver after using nose drops is warning people of the dangers of medicines containing the metal .
WOMAN REVEALS HER 9-MONTH-OLD DAUGHTER SUFFERED HORRIFIC BURNS TO 20% OF HER BODY AFTER KNOCKING SCALDING BOTTLE WARMER OVER HERSELF AT DAYCARE
A mother-of-three has revealed how her nine-month-old daughter was severely burnt after knocking a scalding bottle warmer over herself at daycare .
BRAVE LEOPARD BEFRIENDS A CROC
A brave leopard kicks back and relaxes in the sunshine - just inches from an enormous crocodile .
MUM REVEALS PREGNANCY ALLERGY
A first-time mum has told how she was allergic to her unborn baby after she developed an angry red rash all over her body .