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
AMAZING PANCAKE CREATIONS
From squids to Star Wars, these flipping marvellous creations are pancake portraits .
KUNG-FU LEOPARD CUBS
Pouncing down on top of his twin brother, these two snow leopard cubs practice their kung-fu moves .
BIKINI DIVER SWIMS WITH SHARKS
ARMED with her camera, bikini and flippers, this brave diver goes swimming with SHARKS .
SWIMMING WITH WHALE SHARKS
A diver looks like a minnow as she swims alongside a gigantic whale shark, the largest species of fish on the planet .
THIRD WHEEL OWL
PERCHED on a branch, this Little Owl plays third wheel to two love birds .
SNOWCAP SQUIRREL
WITH A LITTLE cap of fresh snow resting on his head, this squirrel tries his best to pull off his new look .
BABY BEARS COPY FIGHTING ADULTS
SITTING quietly at the edge of the lake, these two baby bears watch and learn as the adults hunt for fish .
ABANDONED DAIRY FARM'S EERIE PAST
HEARTWARMING belongings lie abandoned in this eerie former dairy farm which has been left to crumble away for decades .
BULLIES MADE MY 10 YEAR OLD DAUGHTER ANOREXIC
A mum has warned of the dangers of child eating disorders, after her 10-year-old daughter developed anorexia when school bullies branded her ‘FAT’ .
CLOWNFISH OPENS WIDE TO REVEAL A CREEPY INTRUDER
A little clownfish opens its mouth to reveal a blood sucking intruder living on its tongue .
BROTHER SEXUALLY ABUSED ME AGED 6 AND TOLD ME HE'D GET CANCER IF I DIDN'T LET HIM
Sophie Carr, 23, from Swindon, was just six when her older brother Alex, then 12, abused her during a game of mummies and daddies .