To feel disappointed after reading this in The Observer about the author and her husband from The Salt Path book and film?

[DisappointedReader]

The real Salt Path: how the couple behind a bestseller le...

I read Raynor Winn's book The Salt Path and her other two books. I was looking forward to seeing the film at some point and to reading her next book. I felt sorry to read about the challenges the couple had faced, especially with regard to losing their family home and with Moth's health. Now, having read the article in today's Observer, I feel a bit stunned and am not sure what to think.

What does it mean?

I always thought that Dal dy Dir meant hold onto your land, but hopefully a Welsh speaker will come along.

Ahh okay - thanks. In the original Observer article, it refers to the book’s title as How Not to Dal dy Dir (Stand Firm), which is such a weird, nonsensical title!

I hated the book ,thought it was badly written and only finished it because it was a book club book. We all hated it and all said we suspected they didn't actually walk the path at all.

It seems like liars and cheats seem to do well it this country just look at our PM for a prime example, so not surprised at Winn and Moth pretending and getting away with it bet they never even walked all of the path!

I guess the Observer article rather ruins the ' helpful ' narrative of this book that all disabled people could just get well again if they were determined enough

And that homelessness can be beneficial to your health if you have a degenerative illness.

Do you mean the current PM? Or a previous one?

I wonder what Raynor/Sally's maiden name is?

I'm curious about this too. I do a lot of genealogy and similar research but haven't been able to find the answer yet. I notice all the press is careful to describe "Sally Walker" as her legal name, not her real name. The Observer also describes her as the person Ros Hemmings (the embezzled man's widow) "knows as Sally Walker". So I suspect she has had multiple identities - probably not hard to think of reasons why that might be so. I think this story has a lot of instalments yet to come!

And one often pulled by Baron Hardup type aristos or minor gentry. Not paying rates , taxes , fines is an art form for some folk. And we're meant to find it rebellious or romantic. Or Summat

Same. He kept being reduced to tears when talking about Moth and his story and I feel bad for him now because he seemed to really believe it.

He does give great interviews too. Hello to Jason Isaacs 😆 (IYKYK).

Checked, I got it wrong. Dal dy dir is "stand firm". It makes about as much sense though, as a title.

I didn’t read the second and third books because I thought the whole thing was a little off. They seemed to be such extreme martyrs, particularly when she described that they were so low on funds that they were counting out their change in coins to buy their next meal (I can’t remember the specific sum but it was less than £10 between them) despite receiving benefits and having family and friends who’d have surely helped if they’d asked? It didn’t make any sense.

Perhaps some covert narcissism at play here? I’ve met a few people like this who always seem extremely down on their luck, but upon getting to know them you realise the martyr role is benefiting them in some way. Their bad luck is actually the consequence of their own patterns of destructive behaviour which they fail to recognise.

I read the book some time ago, enjoyed it as a whimsical, some truth but not all gentle read. I didn't warm to either character, felt there were huge gaps in their pre-walk story, couldn't help wondering why they didn't just go get part-time seasonal jobs in Cornwall if that's what could help them get back on their feet.
The film was a disaster! Two hours of self indulgent navel gazing. Lots of struggling in high winds and waves, no set-up to the story, very little actual script, no story telling, and as for those rabbits on one scene, me and my friend laughed out loud in the cinema, they were obviously domestic bunnies and looks ridiculous on the cliffs. The saving grace was the scenery which was the main character for sure.

I just hope that they haven’t lied about Moth’s illness. That would be a really low blow.

I'd like to think they (or anybody) wouldn't lie about such a terrible thing but I can't make it make sense otherwise.

Yes this doesn’t look like a man who has been terminally ill with a degenerative illness for 12 years. Either he’s a medical miracle or a grifter. Since the PSP charity he was working with have now deleted all references to him from their website it seems he is not a medical miracle.

7 years ago when the book was getting prepped for publishing there may not have been too many questions asked by Penguin as to why he still seemed so well. But as time went by and he didn’t deteriorate the grift must have become a conversation topic in the publishing world.

there are parts missing to this register therefore not being complete it is better to use another couple of indexes, or example GRO on ancestry or and find my past - other than that use bro in an office for complete index

Forgot to add the photo!

GRO not bro - freeBMD is great but has its limitations

Since the PSP charity he was working with have now deleted all references to him from their website it seems he is not a medical miracle.

Hmmm, that seems quite telling.

This is the only thing I can find which mentions that his supposed real name is Ray, although I could swear that it was in an interview with Sally Walker that she answered a question about it. Anyway, next to the picture of the book...

Moth – real name Ray, his nickname is a hangover from his ecological activism in the 1980s and 1990s

https://www.independent.co.uk/news/long_reads/the-salt-path-book-journey-walking-coast-path-cornwall-devon-homelessness-a8502256.html

If there is more to come I am here for every single installment!

I remember reading this article too, because I also wanted to find out why he was called Moth. Haven’t found anything else about their real names though, apart from today’s Observer article.

I think a new thread will be needed as this isn't going to go away anytime soon.

I thought that too, but I did also wonder if they removed his name from the website because of all this other stuff coming out, and perhaps they don’t want that overshadowing all the work they do. Don’t know. Just a thought.