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
'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 .
STUNNING ALICE IN WONDERLAND WEDDING RECEPTION
A couple celebrated tying the knot with a spectacular Alice in Wonderland-themed wedding reception .
THANKSGIVING DINNER PREPARED BY ARTISTS
An artist has transformed traditional Thanksgiving dinners into mini-masterpieces .
THE WORLD'S MOST EXPENSIVE BABY COT
A LUXURY baby cot has hit the shelves with a price tag just shy of 10 MILLION POUNDS .
WOMAN LOSES 11ST AFTER £11K GASTRIC SLEEVE OP
A woman has shed half her body weight after undergoing a gastric sleeve op to shrink her stomach .
PUTIN'S TINY ARMY
Some parents would gasp at the thought of their children playing with a toy gun, but these Russian children are actually encouraged to take up real arms .
SPLASHING KINGFISHER
CAUSING a splash, this determined kingfisher goes hunting for dinner .
WAVING SEAL PUP
RAISING his flipper, this two day old seal pup gives a wave to the camera .
CHEEKY BABY ORANGUTAN
CLIMBING, falling and tugging on his weary mum, this little orangutan is up to all kinds of trouble .
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 .
GIANT CANYON SWING
FORGET Thorpe Park this summer as this is a 50 mile-per-hour ride over the Colorado River CANYON .