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
SISTERS BOTH HAVE 1 IN 3.5M DISEASE THAT IS TURNING THEM TO CRYSTAL

Meet the sisters who have both been diagnosed with a one in 3 .

WOMAN SPENDS £20K A YEAR ON 30 PET PUGS

Meet the dog-loving woman who spends £20k a year looking after her 30 pet PUGS .

WELSH HOTEL ONCE HOME TO WWI SOLDIERS NOW LIES ABANDONED

A grand 56-bedroom hotel, once heaving with injured soldiers during the First World War, now lies completely abandoned .

DAREDEVIL DIVERS HAVE A WHALE OF A TIME

SWIMMING next to 40 tonne whales, dare-devil divers take the plunge with these gentle giants of the sea .

ROAD KILL ON THE MENU

A ROAD KILL munching Scot has chewed on everything from a dead squirrel to an unlucky crow – all in the name of art .

DIABULIMIA LEFT ME INFERTILE AND GOING BLIND

For years Jeorgia Woodd, 30, abused her body, having succumbed to a condition known as 'diabulimia' .

MAN DODGES DANGER TO COMMUTE ON PENNY FARTHING

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 .

MILLIONS OF SARDINES CREATE A TORNADO WAVE

THIS incredible shimmer of silver fish mirrors the image of that of an underwater tornado .

JOLY THE WOLLY FALLS FOR PARKING PRANK

PRANKSTER Dom Joly was so livid when he was slapped with a parking ticket that he took to Twitter to vent his anger – only to discover he was the victim of his own gag! The comic got a taste of his own medicine when he was tricked by a fellow joker for the first time in a decade .

'GRENADE' DIET PILLS PUT AIRPORTS ON ALERT

AIRPORT staff have been put on alert after diet pills that come in grenade shaped containers sparked security alerts .

SQUIRREL VS DINOSAUR

A feisty squirrel takes on a fearsome foe when he decides to tackle a T-REX .

100K BARONESS THATCHER COLLECTION

WELCOME to the drawing room that is home to the £100K world’s greatest collection of Margaret Thatcher autographed objects .