Thread 3: To feel disappointed after reading this in The Observer about the author and her husband from The Salt Path book and film?

[DisappointedReader]

The Observer The real Salt Path: how a blockbuster book and film were ...

Thread One ^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?^

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

I don't dispute that it's beyond the realms of plausible to think he has CBD.

But I would just like to see the language shift and change and an acknowledgement in posts that we equally we can never tell from photos or snapshots of time how well someone is.

I don't leave the house on bad days. So any photos or times people see me are the "good days" (or the good moments in a mixed day).

It's perfectly possible to both agree it's not possible he has CBD and be frustrated by people thinking they can tell the state of someone's health from a photo or an encounter.

@RoyalCorgi In fact, if you look at all the pictures of him in all the newspaper stories he's been in, there isn't a single one where he even looks peaky. You could use him in adverts for health supplements for the aged - the man is positively radiating vitality.

It's the power of all that walking!
Talking of photos, the one thing that's really bugging me every time I see pictures of them is the knowing look they always seem to be giving the camera. Every single photo they are slightly smirking like they knew a secret (which actually they did, a 64K one) and are pretty bloody pleased with themselves about it.

People are already blaming others

mr hemmings is probably a tax evader or had chaotic books so she was doing him a favour by stealing because then he caught onto himself

the friend who lent them the money to stop her being prosecuted was a loan shark and a big meanie for giving the debt to someone who actually enforced

Who knows whether that’s true or not, and who they saw, presumably by then they would be seeing somebody privately which could be anyone, I’m not sure the NHS would routinely keep undertaking scans In this situation, although somebody else might know better than me, that certainly wasn’t our experience.

Also, what is it they’re actually looking at? If it’s a functional MRI scan, which measures brain activity rather than structures, my basic understanding is that maybe it could’ve improved in some areas after physical activity as the brain made new connections, who knows? I am not medical, but I did do a lot of reading about this though our personal experience. Once you’ve lost actual physical brain cells, you (generally) can’t replace them, but your brain can work around it and make new connections in some situations. In my DFs condition there is some evidence that you can retrain your eyes to be aware of the placement of your body when you lose proprioception, which is your internal sense of where your body is in space. It’s hard and intense work, but I would imagine on a functional MRI it might include increased activity in certain areas of the brain to compensate for other others. But basically we know they’ve been economical with the truth so what they say and what actually happened could be two different things.

Hey - don’t knock it (a long walk) till you try it ;). I’m not sure it’s totally about ability to think critically, often it’s about willingness. I was extremely critical of ‘Zen … motorcycle maintenance’ - didn’t get it at all as a 16 year old teenaged girl. Motorcycles, mid life crisis, man, zen? Meh. But the Salt Path shenanigans are relatable, for me at a different time and place in life. Without religion I suppose a lot of people search for meaning in nature and physical exertion these days - most gyms and walking paths are probably busier than most churches on Sunday mornings. And religions need their holy texts - TSP may well have been one for the ‘nature, go walkies and brag about it at the school gates/book club’ brigade. I suppose it’s a bit like the people who need the bible to be 💯 true to find it useful, vs the ones who are ok with a little creative license in their inspirational fodder.

I think ‘based on real life events’ did heavy lifting in TSP because it wasn’t really a work of literary genius - just reasonably well written with some amusing moments and some nice, basic prompts to keep on moving. I don’t know if many new readers will bother with it as ‘fiction’, but interesting to ponder why that is, as the text itself hasn’t changed. Only what we think we know about the author, and, the genre we now assign it. Is this ‘the medium is the message’ in full force? This thread has been pretty good for getting some insight into that.

Oh god, don't you just hate it when you help someone out by relieving them of a massive amount of their own money and they don't even have the decency to say thank you. Or let you keep it.

Every single photo they are slightly smirking

I've noticed that A LOT since Sunday. And there was one interview I saw them give where Sally's talking and he's got such a look in his eyes, a combination of absolute pride in the bollocks she's spouting combined with an appreciation of how clever they are.

@AWanderingFool Thank you! So glad it's not just me.

Its giving me the irrational rage.

I liked the first book, but was less impressed with the second one. It's a while now since I read it. Iirc, at the start of the book she got a call to say that her mother was seriously ill and she rushed off to the hospital to be by her side. Whilst sitting by her mother's bedside, she reflected on the events of the first book. I'd say a good third of the book was taken up with this. I felt a bit cheated tbh. I didn't want to read what was essentially a summary of the first book.

Raynor (or whatever her real name is) described an unhappy childhood and didn't seem close to her parents. She gave the impression of being a bit of a recluse and appeared to rely a lot on Moth for company. I got the impression she was very socially isolated - I assumed she'd been a SAHM while her kids were small and didn't mix with others much. I was quite concerned about how she would cope when the inevitable happened and Moth passed away. Given the revelations of the last few days, I'm looking at the 'social recluse' bit in a whole new light.

Anyway, her mother passed away and the last section of the book was taken up with a trip/hike in Iceland. This was the best bit of the book. I quite like travelogues and accounts of arduous journeys - from the comfort of my sofa with a ready supply of chocolate beside me . Winter arrived earlier than they anticipated and they didn't complete the full hike they had planned to do.

What happened in the third book? Someone mentioned something about a solo hike in Scotland.

Thought this interview was interesting regarding the tent and hiding etc, makes sense really doesn't it

https://www.countryliving.com/uk/wildlife/countryside/a64976957/raynor-winn-the-salt-path-interview/

Do we have any thoughts on Dave and Julie who, if I recall joined them on their walk in book two? Are Dave and Julie even real 😭

Not if you are a bare faced liar!

If she was born in 1962 then her parents probably married in the late 50s. If they'd married in the early 40s they would have been very old to have a baby in 1962

What happened in the third book? Someone mentioned something about a solo hike in Scotland.

I loved The Salt Path. Thought she was a one hit wonder when I read the second as it was so bad. I also felt cheated because it was, what, 60% padding?

Landlines is about them walking firstly The Cape Wrath Trail, or part of it as the most northerly section was closed when they were apparently there. And if you thought the SWCP was arduous, this is something else!

From the website: The Cape Wrath Trail is an unofficial, unmarked and magnificently wild long distance route from Fort William to Cape Wrath, the most north westerly point of mainland Scotland. A superb and challenging route for experienced long-distance backpackers, the Trail passes through some of Scotland's most spectacular landscapes...

...Although some sections follow paths and tracks, there are also many parts of the route which are pathless; walkers attempting the trail shoud have a high degree of navigational skill, and always carry a map and compass. There are also several unbridged river crossings which can become dangerous or even impossible in spate conditions. Altogether the route is usually regarded as the greatest backpacking challenge in the UK.

Tim Walker was, of course, miraculously improved along the way.

They decided to carry on and do the West Highland Way, a walk in the Borders, then the Pennine Way.

I thought Dave and Julie were awful people.

Yeah, I know. I'm thick

I've saud tvis previously but I dont think it's a bad thing questioning if someone looks remarkably well given a supposed illness, if they are actually making money off the back of said alleged illness.

It took ages for Belle Gibson's con to be brought to light thanks to that squeamishness.

No.

You're espousing a dangerous narrative. Do you realise how few people qualify for PIP?

Do some research before you carry on, please.

Yes it really is because you need to attend interviews, provide medical evidence and and address and - oh, you'd think the DWP might have noticed a book or two describing how he was miraculously cured of his (amongst other things) mobility problems whilst long distance walking. Unless, of course, it was awarded for being a pathological liar, which may constitute a mental health disorder. I doubt it, but possibly worth a try.

@Redheadedstepchild your maths is possibly on a par with mine 😂😂

And that's why you know I can't carry out a twenty teen elevensy year long scam.

I saw a clip earlier this week where Sally was on The One Show or This Morning - which are both pretty much live - saying Moth had been scheduled to appear but was in hospital (or possibly recovering at home post a hospital stay). Perhaps someone in Cornwall saw him that day looking as right as rain and they got to thinking about how he always seemed well…

Yes but now I wonder if they were entirely invented!!??

I have immediate and extended family members and friends with degenerative neurological conditions. With some of them you wouldn't be able to tell from a photograph that they were ill; however, it is obvious they are all living with a condition when you meet them in person, even if it is just a matter of struggling to formulate thoughts or slightly slurred speech. Even the ones who have less severe conditions or are at an earlier stage of their prognosis are not able to go on long, rugged hikes or work as a manual labourer.

I have only seen Raynor interviewed a couple of times on live television but neither time was Moth with her. After hearing their story I had assumed this was because he was too ill to appear. Now I am wondering if it is because he didn't appear ill enough. This is the one aspect of the story they could clear up immediately with verified medical evidence and testimony. Surely they should be clamouring to appear on Good Morning Britain with their consultant and a raft of appointment letters?

Was she with Jason Isaacs? That was The One Show. I remember seeing it and thinking it was strange that she was a bit non plussed over it.

My dad had a terminal condition (not CBD I hasten to add) and bounced in and out of hospital quite a few times but I would never have been in the right state to go on national telly during or just afterwards.