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
WOOLWICH MURDER OF BRITISH SOLDIER
Soldiers standing guard outside the Woolwich barracks in London - Two terror suspects are under armed guard in separate hospitals in London after a serving soldier was hacked to death in the street .
HOP ON! FASHIONABLE FROG TRIES A SNAIL HAT ON FOR SIZE
FLAUNTING its new accessory, a fashionable green dumpy tree frog poses for the camera while wearing a SNAIL as a hat .
FUNERAL COMPANY MAKE DIAMONDS FROM CREMATED REMAINS
SPARKLING bright inside their box, it’s hard to believe these diamonds are made from the cremated remains of the deceased .
NEW FLEECE OF LIFE FOR WHEEL CHAIR SHEEP
A disabled sheep is enjoying a new fleece of life after receiving a specially-designed wheelchair .
PENSIONER’S 100K MILK BOTTLE COLLECTION
FOR someone who hates milk, pensioner Steve Wheeler has got an udder-lot of it - nearly 20,000 bottles in fact .
BACKFLIPPING SHARK SOARS DURING SEAL HUNT
Exploding out of the water, a great white shark performs a backflip during a hunt for seals .
SPRITE LIGHTNING CAPTURED IN AURORA LIGHTS
The aurora lights captured in Blair Nebraska, America - WITH electrifying purple and illuminous green brightening up the night sky, this is the rare moment a flash of 'sprite' lightening was captured on camera .
LOOK, NO HANDS! MAN CONTROLS VEHICLE USING HIS BRAIN
A Birmingham man inspired by sci-fi film Wall-E, has created a one- wheeled vehicle, controlled by signals from his BRAIN .
COUPLE RECREATE ICONIC SCENES FROM THE NOTEBOOK
A Canadian couple celebrated their engagement by recreating iconic moments from the film The Notebook .
HUNGRY TURTLE ATTRACTS AN AUDIENCE
SURROUNDED by divers, a hungry green sea turtle enjoys being the centre of attention .
ENDANGERED GORILLA BORN AT TWYCROSS ZOO
A proud gorilla mum welcomes her newborn baby western lowland gorilla, a critically endangered species .
STALKER EX PROPOSED WITH A BED SHEET AND ADVERTISED ME ON A SWINGER'S WEBSITE - I HAD CALLS FROM STRANGERS ASKING FOR SEXUAL FAVOURS WITH ONE TURNING UP TO MY HOUSE ON MOTHER'S DAY
Louise McManaman, 50, from Liverpool, started seeing Ian Blackburn, 62, in November 2021 .