In 2022 Laura and her family were at Sidmouth Folk Festival where a chance encounter with Honey & The Bear turned into a wonderful tale of connection, understanding and representation.
Within Reach chatted to Laura and the band for both sides of this very special story…
Laura, how did your wonderful connection with Honey & The Bear begin and how did Finn’s Jig come about?
We started following Honey & The Bear back in lockdown. At the time, Danny—Finley’s dad—was living in Great Yarmouth, and we were in a long-distance relationship. We used to watch their Facebook Live gigs every Sunday evening, together but from opposite ends of the country. It became our way of feeling connected despite the distance.
Eventually, we moved in together in Somerset, but we still shared a love for the music that helped keep us going when we were apart.
Fast forward a few years to when Finley had been born and we were living together—we took our usual family holiday to Sidmouth Festival and saw that Honey & The Bear were playing. We went along and really enjoyed the show.
Afterwards, Lucy brought their little one over to play with Finley, as they were a similar age. It was then that my middle son started asking Jon about songwriting. He’d heard that they often write about inspirational people, and he said he’d love it if they wrote a song about Finley and his limb difference.
I later messaged them on Facebook with the suggestion—and they kindly agreed to give it a go!
How did you feel when you first heard Finn’s jig?
It was such an emotional reaction. The first time we heard it; it was just a short snippet of the instrumental—but even that caught us completely by surprise.
After that, we waited a couple of months for the album to be released. The day the CD arrived in the post; we raced home to play it. I was in floods of tears—completely overwhelmed. Even now, it’s such a beautiful song.
It was such an emotional reaction. The first time we heard it; it was just a short snippet of the instrumental—but even that caught us completely by surprise.
What was Finn’s reaction to his song?
Finley absolutely loves his song—he dances as soon as it comes on. He was so excited to share it with his preschool, and they now use it during music time for all the children to enjoy.
For you, how important is representation for children growing up with difference?
I think it’s such an inspirational song. It sums up the sheer determination that so many of our remarkable children share. It reminds them that they really can achieve anything their hearts desire.
Lucy & Jon aka ‘Honey & The Bear’
Where it all began…
We met Laura and Finn at Sidmouth Folk Festival in 2022. They watched us perform our concert in the Ham marquee, and afterwards, when we went out to sell our merchandise, we met this beautiful little family for the first time. Finn and our daughter Gracie were very similar in age (not quite a year old), so she was drawn to the only other small person in the room like a moth to a flame and we formed an instant bond. During our gig that day, Jon had asked the audience for story suggestions for songwriting and a few days later, we received a lovely message from Laura saying that her son Ash, Finn’s older brother who doted on him, thought we should write a song for Finn who had limb difference. He suggested it could be about overcoming difference and being just like everybody else. We instantly felt that it was possibly the sweetest thing we had ever heard, so Lucy set about penning some lyrics!
Were there any particular emotions or moments you wanted to capture in the lyrics?
Honestly, it was a really tough song to write. Lucy wrote several versions of the lyrics which were literally screwed up and thrown into the bin! She wanted to capture the right vibe … childlike, fun, adventurous, no element of sadness or negativity, just looking at all the joy to be found in life, whilst celebrating our differences. So, the final piece ended up being a jig time song, interweaved with tunes, upbeat and dramatic, featuring lots of twiddley diddley fiddley bits (the technical term) where the focus of the song was setting your mind on something and just doing it, defying those who may doubt your abilities. The overall piece feels quite ‘piratey’, trying to capture the rumble tumble essence of boys in their youth.
How did Laura and Finn react to the song?
We were honestly so nervous to send Laura and Finn the final version of the song, just in case we hadn’t captured the right feel – but Laura was effervescent with praise and told us it made her and all the ladies at Finn’s nursery well up with tears. Apparently Finn was loving it too and all his little nursery friends had been playing shakey eggs and bells along to it – it paints a very sweet little picture that we are so happy to have played a part in. They’ve since been to see us on our UK tour and Finn sat in the front row! It was really very special to be able to perform it live to him and his family, so much so that Lucy felt quite overcome with emotion and had to stop singing at one point!
Shared from Within Reach Magazine Summer 2025. Read it now!