May 2025

Wodka, Winnings & What's Next...!

Life Updates

Hey hey everyone! How are you all doing? :)

Oh my gosh, May has been JAM PACKED and has seemingly gone on FOREVER. Seriously, this month has felt even longer than January (and I didn’t know that was humanly possible?!) - but it’s been fun! We celebrated Mat’s 42nd birthday, had many joyful get-togethers with friends and went on many exciting adventures!

First up, was mine and Mat’s trip to Krakow, Poland! This was our first time visiting and we had such a blast. The food and drink was AMAZING (especially the flavoured shots in the Wodka bar), Wawel Castle was utterly gorgeous and visiting the theme park Energylandia was brilliant. (OK, I avoided the rollercoasters, but I did do the Rapids! Twice!!) I also absolutely loved the modern art gallery! My full vlog of our trip is still in the making, but in the meantime here are a few piccies… I just love travelling with Mat and exploring the world together! And I would definitely recommend Krakow as a fabulous place to visit!

The week we got back, we went to see the comedian Stewart Lee at the Kings Theatre - I’m not usually much of a stand-up goer, but he’s Mat’s absolute fave so we always see him when he’s touring! This was the show where he transformed into THE MAN-WULF as a satire of right-wing American comedians with big Netflix specials (and not a lot of talent). It was very silly and yet also quite thought-provoking. I truly hope Stewart doesn’t die of heat-stroke by the end of this tour, because that costume looked BOILING.

The peak of comedy… A janky werewolf costume.

May 17th was EUROVISION BABYYYY!! We had a little get together at my parent’s house with a lovely BBQ from my Dad and cakes and snacks from everyone else. Totally forgot to take any photos, but a fun, campy time was had by all. It was quite a tense show with a few shocking outcomes. Remember Monday were robbed in the televote (love those girls!!) and Sweden not sweeping the board was really surprising after how high their odds were. Absolutely loved Estonia and Italy too. I placed a cheeky doubles bet on Italy’s Lucio and the Ukraine band Ziferblat to come top ten and ended up winning £76.90 WHICH I WAS SO CHUFFED ABOUT. My Eurovision instincts are never wrong mwahahaha!!

((Also shout-out to Leah who was drunkenly messaging me from a gay bar during the show. I asked her who the crowd was rooting for and she replied “I dunno man everyone’s battered”. Iconic.))

Later in the month, Mat and I went to the Boiler Room in Guildford to see singer/songwriter Amy Studt perform a 5-song warm-up set for her festival slot at The Mighty Hoopla (which was on last weekend!). I absolutely LOVED her False Smiles album when I was a teen and I was very lucky to have supported her a few times back in the day, so to hear all those special songs live again 20 years later was just amazing! She saw me in the crowd and sang straight to me (which was literally a religious experience), and we also got to chat for a little while after her set! I can’t believe that I have such cool, famous acquaintances, like what the hell?! She is sooo lovely and talented, and I’m really excited for her new album next year! Also, her friend Erika who also played on the night was really awesome too!!

This month, I have also been sooo sad because my Mum, Liz Jerams, finally retired from the art shop after 21 years! We’ve worked together side by side for 11 of those 21 years and we have had so many laughs and adventures in that time. I feel really lucky that we’ve got such special memories and had an experience that not many other mothers and daughters can say they’ve shared.

She had an amazing send-off with so many people from the Uni wishing her well, giving her hugs and making her cute little cards and gifts to say goodbye. We all cried (!!!), but Sue and I are glad that Mum can go and have new exciting adventures now, including travelling to Thailand with my Dad later in the year. Will the shop burn down to ashes the second we are left to our own devices? Tune in next term to find out!

Creative Updates

This month I officially released Reasons To Love A Nerd Like Me on Amazon Kindle, woohoo!!! (Click here to buy on Amazon!)

It has been incredibly nerve-wracking, but hugely liberating to start putting out my back catalogue, and already I’m seeing the HUGE benefits of self-publishing compared to traditional!

Firstly - people are already finding Nerd and reading on Kindle Unlimited! Seeing the “pages read” bar chart ebbing and flowing throughout the month has been very exciting - I’d become so used to my work floating around and never seeing any of the numbers (or any of the royalties!!!), so to now have direct proof every day of people reading my book, and what that means for me in a career sense, is kind of exhilarating.

Is it huge numbers? No, it is not. Is it consistent numbers? Touch wood… yes, so far it seems to be! And as I know full well from writing songs for music libraries, having a lot of projects making small amounts ADDS UP.

As such, I’ve been planning my releases up to the end of the year, and hope to get out two more of my back catalogue in 2025, with further titles being released in 2026!

I am also still tweaking and polishing my new adult rom-com with the intention of pitching out to agents over summer… But this time, if I get nothing but silence and rejection, that’s OK!!! Because self-publishing doesn’t feel like a step-back or a consolation prize, it feels like taking my power back. It’s taken me a little while to realise that, but now I’m so glad that I have!

Other Stuff Going On

• Diving into the world of Amazon Ads - I’ve been taking the Ads Academy e-learning courses to try and get my head around bidding and daily budgets and all the random acronyms and buzzwords that come with launching a sponsored product. It’s been a lot to learn, but I’m enjoying it! Along with all the marketing podcasts I’ve been listening to, I’ll be a BUSINESS MOGUL (TM) in no time!
  

• Finishing up my short film musical with Sazzie and Matt! Link-My-Heart is now in the FINAL stages (including securing a fab vocal cameo recorded by my pal Sam Brawn!) and we are actually now chatting launch plans and film festivals to submit to. EEEEK. Watch this space!
  

• Booking my first gig in FOREVER! For anyone local, I’ll be playing a covers night at Southsea Spirits (hosted by Southsea Sound) on Weds June 18th with my dear friend Matt Blackwell on keys. The night starts at 7pm with my 5-song set being on at 9pm. It’s been so long since I played a gig so I’m a bit nervous, but I also can’t wait!
  

• Fighting with giant companies over invoices… I provided session vocals for a HUGE production company at an agreed upon price of £70 per hour (which is already below my hourly rate), which they then, without warning, slashed down to £45 per hour. (Because they expected THREE SONGS recorded in an hour?!! Are these people INSANE?!) It was a job through a friend, and neither of us wanted to lose the many hours of work we’d put in, so we had no choice but to lump it. This company is so huge that they had us over a barrel and trying to sue would just have been pointless. It’s honestly so annoying and devaluing to be treated this way, and along with another substantial royalties pay-out that has been held up for years due to an admin error, I’m beginning to lose my fricking mind. Can we please in the year of 2025 stop treating creative work like some silly hobby and actually pay people properly for the hard work they put in? THAAANKS.
  

• Working on my vlog for Poland and other silly videos for socials! (I wanted to end this list on something more positive and less ranty, so there we go hahaha)

Movie Recs

Tár - The fictional biopic of a female orchestra conductor named Lydia Tár and her epic fall from grace. Cate Blanchett is a force of nature in this movie, and whilst it’s reeeeaallly long, and quite slow, it’s also very engaging and an absolutely fascinating character study. Tár is not a particularly nice woman, but I couldn’t take my eyes off her or the crazy shit she was doing haha! Also, I don’t know anything about the classical music world, but I really enjoyed learning more about it!

Our Friend - A really sad and tender movie (based on a true story) starring Dakota Johnson about a woman named Nicole with terminal cancer whose friend takes a huge role in helping take care of her and her family during her illness. The timeline jumps back and forward to before and after Nicole’s diagnosis and explores many different dynamics and relationships. I just randomly found this movie on Netflix and it was a bit of a hidden gem!

Conclave - Look, was this one of the best movies I’ve ever seen? No. Was it one of the only 3 movies I had time to watch this month? Yes it was. Did it have lots of old men in dresses gossiping and bitching in corridors? Yes it did. Do I love all those old men? Yes I do. Let’s just leave it at that.

TV Recs

Skins (1st Generation) - I have been going back in time to my teen years and rewatching the electric, hilarious and edgy-as-all-hell SKINS, right from Generation 1 onwards. The nostalgia has been immense and I am falling in love with every single character all over again. Not to sound totally middle aged, but they just don’t make ‘em like this anymore!!!

You (Season 5) - I have a complex relationship with ‘You’. I LOVE the book series and I LOVED season 1 of the TV show, and then each season thereafter got progressively worse and worse for me until I vowed never to watch it again. But now here we are at the final hurdle and it just feels rude at this point not to finish what I’ve started. So far, it’s probably my favourite new season for a while, mainly because there are lots of scenes of the awesome Anna Camp being a bitch and rattling around in Joe’s creepy underground bookshop cage. A vast improvement from whatever the nonsense of Season 4 was, if I’m honest.

Eurovision - OK, I know I mentioned it earlier, but it was such a great show with so many iconic songs that will go down in Eurovision history! (Serving KANT anyone??) I also absolutely loved all the semis with Rylan and Scott Mills hosting - get them on the main show immediately!! Eurovision is my one week of the year where I know what sports fans must feel like! It’s very exciting!

Book Recs

The Flat Share by Beth O’Leary - I can’t believe it’s taken me soooo long to finally read this absolutely brilliant and charming rom com! Tiffy and Leon share a flat, just not at the same time… Tiffy takes nights and Leon (a night nurse) takes days. They begin to communicate to each other via Post-It Notes… Cue ALL THE FEELS. One of the best modern romances I’ve read, and now I can’t wait to dive into Beth’s entire back catalogue!

Sunrise On The Reaping by Suzanne Collins - OK so technically I finished this one at the end of April, but somehow it got missed off last month’s recs (HOW?!) This was such an incredible Hunger Games prequel all about young Hamish and his time in the arena. It was BRUTAL. I cried lots. So many twists and turns that kept me on the edge of my seat. Absolutely incredible.

Sounds Like Me: My Life (so far) In Song by Sara Bareilles - I am a Sara Bareilles superfan and I loved hearing her talk about her most impactful songs in her own words. This memoir is so quirky and full of heart, with some great behind the scenes intel. Bonus points for Sara’s outtakes at the end of the audiobook where she basically just yells MOTHERFUCKER many times in a row.

Music Recs

Silver Deliverer by Aly & AJ - My favourite sister duo is back, this time with an album of dreamy, 70’s-inspired tracks… Think Fleetwood Mac with a modern twist. The kind of album to blare out of your car windows on a summer road trip.

Music For People Who Believe In Love by Joe Jonas - The middle Jonas brother has just released a new solo album, and what I’ve heard so far sounds so cool and vibey. I always feel the Jonas brothers are so much more than the pop/rock they played as teens and I love seeing the boys explore new sounds and styles as they get older! Honey Blonde is a particular stand out for me on this record.

While You Were Sleeping by Paul Andreas - My bestie has officially entered his country era with this brand new track which is all about not feeling supported by those closest to you. The lyrics are filled with emotion and the melody is absolutely beautiful. Can’t wait for the full country album (that I might just be having a little cameo on...!)

I also really love this Youtube video of Nerina Pallot covering the song ‘Moving’ by Supergrass - she has been covering artists from every area she has been touring in the UK, and it’s such a brilliant idea and so creative!

I also just wanted to give a shout out to Amy Poehler’s new podcast Good Hang which is so funny and joyous! I absolutely loved her debut episode chatting with her work wife Tina Fey - seeing women in their 50s who are so hilarious, vibrant and passionate (and well dressed) is inspirational to me. I want to be just like them in 10 to 15 years!!

Welp, that’s all from me for now. See you again soon for the best month of the year (aka. MY BIRTHDAY MONTH) woo!! Hope you’re all having a lovely start of summer! :D

Becky xx