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
FEARLESS CHEF SLAMS TRIPADVISOR REVIEWS WITH HILARIOUS INSULTS
FOR most restaurateurs, the phrase ‘the customer is always right’ is gospel .
CHEEKY CHIPMUNK WITHDRAWS HIS GENEROUS OFFER
A cheeky chipmunk offers some of his spare food, before deciding against the idea and shoving the extra peanut into his already crammed mouth .
BEAR AND FOX IN SHOWDOWN
This is the moment a nimble red fox and a lumbering Alaskan brown bear were locked in a tense stand-off .
MAN CONTINUES HIS WORLD MAP BACK TATTOO
An American man continues on his mission to document his journey around the globe by completing a world map tattoo on his back .
WOMAN DISCOVERS PREGNANCY…AS HER BABY BEGINS CROWNING
A support worker was stunned to discover she was eight months pregnant after she was rushed to hospital with 'stomach cramps' .
FROG FRIENDS
PERCHED on a branch, these two frogs hold hands as they look into the camera .
NINE YEAR OLD GIRL'S 'PULLED MUSCLE' TURNS OUT TO BE CANCER
A nine year old girl nearly lost her leg after doctors initially misdiagnosed her bone cancer as a pulled muscle .
STORM CHASER PHOTOGRAPHS STUNNING EXTREME WEATHER
These photographs of extreme weather capture storms furiously rolling across the sky above America .
DIGIT-AL ART: HANDY COLLECTION UNVEILED
Here's a collection of art for the DIGIT-AL age as these fascinating illusions of landmarks, places and even a banana are made using just a pair of hands .
16ST POLE DANCER FIGHTS BACK AGAINST ONLINE TROLLS
A talented 16st pole dancer who was once dubbed a 'disgusting human form' by online trolls is fighting back to show her bullies that big is beautiful .
SUPER TOT – BIZARRE BABY PHOTO’S
Magical photos of your baby smiling for the first time are a priceless treasure for many a proud parent .
PRAIRIE DOG AND STARLING STAND-OFF
This starling and prairie dog will not back down an inch as they have a fearsome stand-off over who gets to eat a nut .