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Thread 2. To feel disappointed after reading this in The Observer about the author and her husband from The Salt Path book and film?

1000 replies

AWanderingFool · 06/07/2025 21:10

Thread Two for The Salt Path and Raynor Winn/Sally Walker/Sally Winn discussions.

Thread One is here: www.mumsnet.com/talk/am_i_being_unreasonable/5368194-to-feel-disappointed-after-reading-this-in-the-observer-about-the-author-and-her-husband-from-the-salt-path-book-and-film?

OP posts:
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47
WhatterySquash · 07/07/2025 11:52

WynkenDeWorde · 07/07/2025 11:37

To be clear, the 'trapped in a chicken shop' was a piece of creative writing by her daughter. Not RW. You need to read the piece.

OK, I've looked again. I don't think that comes across clearly, though I can see how it could be interpreted that way, at a stretch. RW says she didn't hear from her daughter for three days, and parallels what she was doing over those three days with her daughter being stuck and out of contact because her phone hadn't fallen in too.

If that's meant to convey that this was just a creative flight of fancy on her daughter's part and that she was out of contact for three days because she was so busy writing, then she's muddled it up with reality to a very confusing degree, with the interpolation with her own activities and the phone being on the windowsill being the reason why her daughter didn't contact her.

Not that it matters a lot in the scheme of things. It just adds to the confusion and blurring of the distinction between fact and fiction - though it was actually just the bad writing that struck me initially.

AWanderingFool · 07/07/2025 11:53

Recent press coverage concerning Raynor Winn is highly misleading. As a result, Raynor is taking legal advice and will not be making any further comment at this time.

This is what the DM reported. Interesting that Gigspinner repeat it. And not only repeat it, but seem certain that the coverage IS misleading.

I would love to know what Sally Walker feels is misleading.

The embezzlement patently happened, as did the NDA, borrowing money, and reposession. There is property in France. They have had CCJs and creditors looking for them.

Unless she thinks that they were somehow hard done by because the loan was called in. They did try to argue that it was a business loan, not a personal loan, to try and stop it being called in. So perhaps in the Walker's minds, they feel that was unfair, and makes them victims. Amazingly arrogant.

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nomas · 07/07/2025 11:54

Songlines · 07/07/2025 11:46

I'm interested to read the Gigspanner are saying the coverage is 'highly misleading'

I think they're making the point obliquely that they had partnered with Winn based on believing her in good faith.

It's an interim measure whilst more truths emerge. I doubt she will ever perform with them again.

Aspanielstolemysanity · 07/07/2025 11:55

nomas · 07/07/2025 11:54

I think they're making the point obliquely that they had partnered with Winn based on believing her in good faith.

It's an interim measure whilst more truths emerge. I doubt she will ever perform with them again.

I agree. They are buying themselves time and thinking space.

AWanderingFool · 07/07/2025 11:57

I think Gigspinner saying quite clearly that the article is misleading is something of a mistake. It sounds like they are certain.

A better approach would have been to say that Raynor Winn has said it is misleading etc.

As it is, it comes across as them believing her.

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Aspanielstolemysanity · 07/07/2025 11:57

Has anyone seen a statement from the film company, GA /JI or the book publishers yet?

Merrymouse · 07/07/2025 11:58

WhatterySquash · 07/07/2025 11:01

"she lived in a grey landscape, away from the light."

This is a prime example of the way this kind of writing grinds my gears. What do you mean, away from the light? She's living in a city, in a first floor (or possibly higher) flat - the sky and natural daylight still exist in cities (not to mention lots of green spaces and trees and gardens and wildlife) - I realise it's meant to be some kind of profound metaphor but it's also just nonsense. Moivng to a city, or indeed a small house (or flat) in Cornwall, does not equal being cut off from nature, or in fact "light" real or analogous.

I know the whole investigation and threads are not about her writing style! - but this is why I find this kind of stuff so hard to read. I'm constantly tripped up and distracted by thinking "eh? what are you actually trying to say because this is just wibble."

Also fell through the roof of a chicken shop during lockdown and trapped for days and passers-by doing nothing - don't believe that either.

Many, many people live in cities. Most houses don’t have a view of anything more than a back garden. However, with the right framing you can turn a story about trespass and damage to property into a story about finding freedom.

Humdrum things like repairing a roof are for people who don’t need fields of buttercups.

Aspanielstolemysanity · 07/07/2025 11:58

AWanderingFool · 07/07/2025 11:57

I think Gigspinner saying quite clearly that the article is misleading is something of a mistake. It sounds like they are certain.

A better approach would have been to say that Raynor Winn has said it is misleading etc.

As it is, it comes across as them believing her.

Edited

Agreed. But they may well believe her for now. It can be hard to process how badly you have been mislead

TooExtraImmatureCheddar · 07/07/2025 12:02

It is such bollocks to claim that she stood in the window banging on it for help and passers by just laughed.

Gumballina · 07/07/2025 12:06

ItsNotForYouSheldon · 07/07/2025 00:06

@Gumballina these were my thoughts exactly. I had to force myself to finish it, and only did so because it was one of the book club's choices.

I bought the book, but realised straightaway it wasn't a page turner, so downloaded it on Audible. That was even worse! Having to listen to her droning whinging voice complaining incessantly for hours on end. It was a complete endurance test and I did have to skip through it. I think I speeded up the speech to about 2.5

I seem to remember a bit about a cafe somewhere in Cornwall, when Whiner was - true to form - complaining about people being lucky enough to drink tea and eat scones. The nasty old cafe owner wouldn't give them free tea or scones even though they told her they were a worthy cause 🙄So they had to settle for the boiling hot water she gave them and one tea bag or something.

I can remember thinking "by the description of this little beach cafe, they are not making The Ivy kind of profits and really, you are being very entitled".

I'm another one who just wasn't buying it from the start, it was all so vague. But it was all a bit Emporer's New Clothes at the book club. You felt churlish for not sympathising with them because They Had Lost Everything.

Yes!! This is exactly what I thought. Mine was a book club choice too, which is why I even bothered reading past the bit at the beginning where All The World Is Against Us, culminating in the death of the (ancient and diseased) pet sheep. I remember being so annoyed by this that I called out to DH, "Oh for God's sake, now even the bloody sheep has died!"

Luckily my book club was much less enthusiastic about it than yours seems to have been, although they did enjoy the nature bits.

So funny when you think about her whinging about not being given free tea and scones by a small local cafe - I guess that must have seemed like a small ask after helping yourself to tens of thousands of pounds from your ex-employer!

There was certainly a huge sense of entitlement. The world really did owe them a living, in the house and surroundings of their choice, with tea and scones on tap. Regardless of the problems caused by their own terrible decisionmaking. Even in her own version, it was just breathtaking how badly they messed up. Complaining about the cold after they bought inadequate camping stuff. Complaining about the husband not having medication after they failed to organise it properly. Complaining about being ripped off in some vague way by a friend whom apparently they had entrusted with all their money with zero due diligence - I remember thinking, "Surely nobody could really be that dumb," and actually it seems there was good reason to be suspicious of that story!

It's quite something when you are telling your own story in your own words (and, as it turns out, lying and making stuff up as you please) and you still come across as awful.

Orangesandlemons77 · 07/07/2025 12:08

Merrymouse · 07/07/2025 09:38

I believe that he has some kind of medical condition, but that they are vastly over egging the conclusion that he was ‘cured by walking/getting back to nature/toiling in the land’ and that the more likely reason for his unexpectedly good health is that his diagnosis is wrong.

I wonder about the pregabalin he was on (and then came off of with withdrawal effects)

It can cause all sorts of side effects neurological / memory etc, then he seemed to improve off the meds.

AWanderingFool · 07/07/2025 12:12

I wonder who created the artwork to go with the Observer article?

It's based on Angela Harding's The Salt Path cover art.

Angela's a printmaker and I don't think she would have gone through the process of making another print. She must have given them permission to use her artwork and change it, though, otherwise they wouldn't have been able to use it.

She hasn't made a statement but her deleting all references to the books on her Insta page (angelaharding11) speaks plainly. (The art is available in other forms, which is great, as it's beautiful.)

OP posts:
Orangesandlemons77 · 07/07/2025 12:14

Orangesandlemons77 · 07/07/2025 12:08

I wonder about the pregabalin he was on (and then came off of with withdrawal effects)

It can cause all sorts of side effects neurological / memory etc, then he seemed to improve off the meds.

More here on pregabalin

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pregabalin

Pregabalin - Wikipedia

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pregabalin

sualipa · 07/07/2025 12:16

I feel for the band they bought in to her story big time as did the audiences ;

www.gigspanner.com/saltlines

SALTLINES is however far more than a contemplation of the beauty of the South West Coast Path...it touches on social and environmental issues that face not only coastal communities but the world at large. It is a modern piece, thoughtfully and creatively delivered.
Formed by legendary Steeleye Span fiddle player Peter Knight, the Gigspanner Big Band line-up features acclaimed multi-instrumental duo Edgelarks (Phillip Henry and Hannah Martin - BBC Folk Awards 'Best Duo') Bellowhead co-founder and melodeon player extraordinaire, John Spiers, Roger Flack on guitar and Sacha Trochet on percussion.
In the wake of the debut tour, there was an outpouring of emotion from many people who had been profoundly moved by this extraordinary piece of performance art. Here are just a selected handful of those...

"Simply perfect. Unbelievably emotional. One hell of an evening"
"Sublime; what an evening. We were taken on a journey through sound and words which wove a kind of magic around the auditorium. Crashing waves and quiet ripples, you could almost smell the sea"
"Quite simply one of the most exquisite, breathtaking, hauntingly beautiful and life-affirming performances I've ever seen. Thank you all so much"
"Powerful, thought provoking, seamless and blessed with the flow of brilliance. Libretto perfect, musicianship perfect. Quite astonishing"
"A truly magical experience, it will live with me for a long time. Thank you all"
"An extraordinary gig at The Minack Theatre. It just might have made a grown man cry"
"SALTINES was truly off the scale. Completely carried away by the beauty, sensitivity and pure artistic genius of the whole performance"
"Quite simply one of the most exquisite, breathtaking, hauntingly beautiful and life-affirming performances I've ever seen. Thank you all so much"
"It was a phenomenal performance - I can feel tears just at the thought of High Tide. I feel so privileged to have experienced Saltlines in Lyme Regis. Congratulations to you all and I will definitely book for later in the year"
"We were at the Ilfracombe concert where every moment instantly opened the heart and spirit to the wonders and beauty around us, no matter what burden we carry. These are exceptional concerts, with exceptional people. Music I've waited all my life to hear.... THANK YOU"
"Saw Saltlines last night. It was utterly sensational. I was in floods of tears throughout"
"I cried for the first 10 minutes and I've no idea why. Thanks to all of the Saltlines ensemble for making my year"

PhilippaGeorgiou · 07/07/2025 12:21

I was just updating my Goodreads, and thought I would have a quick look at the page for THe Salt Path on there. Either it's a huge coincidence, or someone on Goodreads has a wicked sense of humour...

Thread 2. To feel disappointed after reading this in The Observer about the author and her husband from The Salt Path book and film?
MrsMillyFluff · 07/07/2025 12:22

Really shocked by this. We went to see the film last week and were humbled by it. I have quite a different perspective on them now.

Tedsshed · 07/07/2025 12:24

AveriltheAvidReader · 07/07/2025 11:38

The fact he's called MOTH should have raised eyebrows.😃

He's of my generation and in 1960 parents gave their children 'sensible ' names like Brian, Steven, Peter, Trevor or Tim.

Moth, indeed.

His real name is Ti-MOTH-y. It's a nickname derived from his real name.

borogovia · 07/07/2025 12:31

I think she will finesse her way out of this:

"The important stuff is all true. The beauty of the landscape, our hardships, the redemption we won from them when we were in a dark place.

It's true we lost the house because of my fraudulent activities. Moth doesn't have CBD, he has a less serious condition and mental health/addiction issues. I changed these facts when I came to write the book because I felt such profound shame about them. I altered them to maintain the real life story arc. I thought it wouldn't matter.

I now realise it was wrong to do this."

Aspanielstolemysanity · 07/07/2025 12:32

borogovia · 07/07/2025 12:31

I think she will finesse her way out of this:

"The important stuff is all true. The beauty of the landscape, our hardships, the redemption we won from them when we were in a dark place.

It's true we lost the house because of my fraudulent activities. Moth doesn't have CBD, he has a less serious condition and mental health/addiction issues. I changed these facts when I came to write the book because I felt such profound shame about them. I altered them to maintain the real life story arc. I thought it wouldn't matter.

I now realise it was wrong to do this."

I"m not so sure. I think it's the end of their grift, in the mainstream at least.

QuantumLevelActions · 07/07/2025 12:32

borogovia · 07/07/2025 12:31

I think she will finesse her way out of this:

"The important stuff is all true. The beauty of the landscape, our hardships, the redemption we won from them when we were in a dark place.

It's true we lost the house because of my fraudulent activities. Moth doesn't have CBD, he has a less serious condition and mental health/addiction issues. I changed these facts when I came to write the book because I felt such profound shame about them. I altered them to maintain the real life story arc. I thought it wouldn't matter.

I now realise it was wrong to do this."

I think you're right. She won't think that she's done anything wrong.

OP posts:
Merrymouse · 07/07/2025 12:39

borogovia · 07/07/2025 12:31

I think she will finesse her way out of this:

"The important stuff is all true. The beauty of the landscape, our hardships, the redemption we won from them when we were in a dark place.

It's true we lost the house because of my fraudulent activities. Moth doesn't have CBD, he has a less serious condition and mental health/addiction issues. I changed these facts when I came to write the book because I felt such profound shame about them. I altered them to maintain the real life story arc. I thought it wouldn't matter.

I now realise it was wrong to do this."

I agree that she can say all this, and unlike Major Tom’s family they haven’t set up a charity themselves, and they haven’t tried to build a dodgy spa.

However, it’s not the same story when their hardships are self inflicted.

I wonder if they have will be found to have breached any contracts with the publishers/film makers/the band doing the saltlines tour?

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PhilippaGeorgiou · 07/07/2025 12:41

Aspanielstolemysanity · 07/07/2025 12:32

I"m not so sure. I think it's the end of their grift, in the mainstream at least.

I agree. I await with bated breath the next installment(s) - because I am 120% positive that there will be more. It's highly unusual for a paper to tell the whole story in one sitting. They usually hold things back for a follow up. Plus, does anyone want to bet which journalists inbox will be full this morning - there will be people who didn't make the connection between who they knew them as and the book/film; others like her ex-employers widow who perhaps didn't think they'd be believed / didn't want the hurt of raking up the past.

Plus, if that woman now told me that the earth was round, I think I'd want a verifiable photo from NASA before I believed her. It wouldn't be hard to fake the entire walk story with a couple of guidebooks, combined with maybe a day trip or two.

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