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
SOUTHERN CROSSED AURORA
YOU’VE heard of the northern lights now feast your eyes on the natural wonder of the SOUTHERN lights .
THE INCREDIBLE BEAUTY OF ICELAND’S ICE CAVES
A stunning ice cave in Iceland is illuminated by sunlight as the bright blue ice appears glow inside .
HEART DRUGS MADE ME LOSE MY EMOTIONS - FOR 12 YEARS
A grandmother has told how she has been unable to feel emotion for the last 12 years thanks to heart drugs she had to take in order to survive .
THE ENCHANTING FOREST OF FIREFLIES
WITH the phosphorescent blobs and mesmerising patterns, these spectacular images may look like the hall marks of an enchanted forest but it is in fact the scene of thousands of dancing FIREFLIES .
CHEEKY OWL’S UNUSUAL LANDING SPOT
An owl swoops through the air before making an unorthodox landing - right on top of an unsuspecting man's head .
WOMAN ‘DIED’ GIVING BIRTH TO HER SON DUE TO HER 19ST FRAME SO SHE LOST 8ST 13LBS AND NOW SHE’S A SIZE 8-10
At 19st and eight months pregnant, Ashley Whitfield, went into hospital to have her baby son, Isaac, delivered by emergency C-section .
LEAPING WOOD MOUSE
LEAPING through the air this determined little mouse is on a mission for food .
MOUNT BROMO METEOR SHOWER
A SPECTACULAR array of stars fills the night sky as they soar over this active volcano .
IRELAND'S HIDDEN BEAUTY
THE TOWERING Irish cliffs of Moher stand tall over the rippling Atlantic Ocean .
CREATE A RHAPSODY ON BOHEMIAN'S NEW SLICK OIL CAN GUITAR
GUITARISTS that want to lay down some slick licks will soon be able to get their hands on a brand new guitar - made from oil cans .
10 YEAR OLD GIRL REINVENTS HER IDENTITY THROUGH COSPLAY
From foster care to the MAGICAL world of cosplay, a young girl’s dreams become reality after being adopted by a photography loving couple .
STREET FIGHTER CRAZE SPREADS TO LONDON
THE CRAZE for mimicking the video game Streetfighter has spread to the streets of London .