Fran and I write a lot about our lives and friendship, so we thought it would be fun to see how much our readers know about us! There are no prizes but we’d love to hear how you got on!
Answers are at the bottom of this post. No cheating!
THE QUESTIONS
Merry Meetings
Q1. When and how did we first meet?
Q2. We’ve met once in person. In what year? Bonus point for where.
Q3. In which city did Fran wave to Marty on webcam from the deck of the cruise ship Eurodam?
Time and Place
Q4. What is the time difference in hours between Porland, Maine and Newcastle, Tyne and Wear?
Q5. How far apart are we when we’re each in our respective homes? 1,000 miles, 2,000 miles, or 3,000 miles.
Q6. Where was Martin born: London, Norwich, or Liverpool?
Wellness and Illness
Q7. Which of the following is not a type of bipolar disorder? Bipolar 1, Bipolar 2, Bipolar 3, Cyclothymic Disorder.
Q8. What is the term for an inability to define or express one’s emotions?
Who and What?
Q9. Who is Martin’s favourite French-Algerian philosopher? Albert Camus or Christopher Hitchens?
Q10. What colour is the cover of our second book, No One is Too Far Away: Notes From a Transatlantic Friendship?
Of Books and Blogs
Q11. We had each published books before we met. True or false?
Q12. In what year was our book High Tide, Low Tide: The Caring Friend’s Guide to Bipolar Disorder first published?
Q13. Why is our blog called Gum on My Shoe?
Photo Round
Q14. Where is this?
Q15. Where is this? Bonus point for what we were doing there.
Who Wrote That?
Q16. Who wrote this, Martin or Fran?
high tide low tide edgeness.. what else is there to do but live life..
Q17. Who wrote this, Martin or Fran?
The measure of us is that I have grown to trust myself with you, and to trust yourself with me.
Q18. Who wrote this, Martin or Fran?
Give people what they need. Not what you need to give them.
And Finally
Q19. What are our middle names?
Q20. What is Marty’s favourite drink?
THE ANSWERS
A1. Fran and Martin met online in May 6, 2011, on the Facebook page of a mutual friend.
A2. We met in person for the first and only time (so far) in June 2013, at the Queen Elizabeth II Cruise Teminal in Southampton, England. The following is from our book High Tide, Low Tide.
I left the hotel shortly afterwards, and parked at the cruise terminal well ahead of schedule. All my frustrations and uncertainty melted away once I was there. I took photographs of the [RMS] Queen Mary 2, and waited in the terminal building for Fran and her parents to come ashore.
And then, all in a moment, they were there. Fran was there. Not three thousand miles away on webcam, but standing in front of me. We hugged across the barrier. My excitement must have been obvious, because Fran’s first words to me were “You’re shaking!”
A3. This delightful event took place in Halifax, Nova Scotia as Fran was on her way back to the US from her three month trip around Europe with her parents.
It’s recounted in chapter 9 (“A Hero’s Journey: Sticking Together When Things Fall Apart.”) of our book High Tide Low Tide.
Martin: Frannie, I have the ship on webcam! I watched you coming in. The camera is looking down on the ship from outside the terminal.
Fran: Would you see me if I waved?
Martin: Maybe! Are you at a window?
Fran: I could go up top on the back deck..
Martin: Yes do! Let me know when you get there!
Fran: OK.. I’m by the stacks..
Martin: I think I can see you! Walk about a bit.
Fran: I’m right by the railing..
Martin: Yes! I can see you! I am waving!
A4. Fran and I are normally five hours apart. This changes to four hours for two weeks in the spring and one week in the autumn due to the US and UK switching to/from daylight saving time on different dates.
A5. According to one online calculator, Fran’s home on the north-east coast of the United States lies just over 3,050 miles (4,910 km) from mine in the north-east of England. As we like to say, “no one is too far away to be cared for or to care.”
A6. Martin was born in Liverpool, England, in 1961. He spent six months in Norwich while on placement from university. After graduating in 1984, Martin lived in London for three years before moving north to Newcastle upon Tyne where he’s lived ever since.
A7. Different types of bipolar disorder are distinguished by patterns and severity of symptoms. The DSM-V identifies four basic types: Bipolar 1 Disorder, Bipolar 2 Disorder, Cyclothymic Disorder, Other Specified and Unspecified Bipolar and Related Disorders.
A8. This condition is known as alexithymia or emotional blindness. Martin had lived with this all his adult life without realising it had a name. He has written about it in two blog posts: How Do I Feel? Exploring Alexithymia and Emotional Blindness and How Do I Feel Now? Living with Alexithymia.
A9. Martin’s favourite French-Algerian philosopher is Albert Camus. He’s written about Camus’ philosophy of Absurdism in One Must Imagine Sisyphus Happy: Encounters With the Absurd Man. The late Christopher Hitchens featured in Martin’s selection of twelve men he admires, published for International Men’s Day 2024.
A10. The cover of No One is Too Far Away: Notes From a Transatlantic Friendship is blue with orange details.
A11. This is true. Fran’s book For the Love of Peaks: Island Portraits and Stories was published by Maine Authors Publishing in 2010. Martin self-published a collection of his poetry, Collected Poems: 1977–1984, in 2008.
A12. High Tide, Low Tide: The Caring Friend’s Guide to Bipolar Disorder was first published in 2016 by Nordland Publishing. The Revised Edition was published by Kingston Park Publishing in 2021.
A13. As our website and Facebook page declare, “Gum on My Shoe is a creative partnership between best friends Martin Baker and Fran Houston.” That’s clear enough — and true — but you might wonder why we chose such an unusual name and what it means. It dates back to a conversation Fran and I had not long after we met in 2011.
“You’re stuck with me now, Fran. I hope you realise that.”
“Like gum on my shoe...”
As for what gum on my shoe actually means to us:
[Gum on My Shoe captures] several important aspects of our friendship. First, that Fran is “stuck with me.” I am not going anywhere. I am here for her no matter what; through good times (there are many) and not so good (there are many). I am the “gum on her shoe” that keeps her grounded, and helps hold her here in this life even — especially — when she wants to leave. It also turns on its head the notion that ill ones are a burden to those around them. I am not locked into a relationship of servitude: we are equals in a mutually supportive friendship.
A14. This is the former STACK Newcastle, one of Martin’s four happy places.
A15. This was taken at live music venue Blue in Portland, Maine. The event was a launch party for our book High Tide Low Tide, and a fundraiser for mental health nonprofit Family Hope. You can watch the event on our YouTube channel: part 1, part 2, part 3.
A16. This was one of Fran’s short form poems, written on Peaks Island in 2012.
A17. That line is taken from Martin’s poem “Friend, how did we come here.”
A18. This important reminder was written by Fran.
A19. Frances Joy Houston, and Martin Keith Baker.
A20. To quote Lorelai Gilmore from the comedy drama television series Gilmore Girls, “Coffee coffee coffee!”
How Did You Do?
0 – 5: We’re glad you’re here!
6 – 10: You’re clearly paying attention!
11 – 15: We’re seriously impressed!
16 – 18: Fancy writing our biographies?
Over 18: That’s actually a little bit scary!
Photo of Martin and Fran by Gary Bakelaar, Beaulieu, June 2013. Other photos by Martin Baker.
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