Thread 4: 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 ...

Second article in the Observer
https://observer.co.uk/news/national/article/the-salt-path-whats-in-the-book-and-what-the-observer-has-found

Third article in the Observer
https://observer.co.uk/news/national/article/the-salt-path-the-truth-behind-the-blockbuster-book-video

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

Thread 3 https://www.mumsnet.com/talk/am_i_being_unreasonable/5369425-thread-3-to-feel-disappointed-after-reading-this-in-the-observer-about-the-author-and-her-husband-from-the-salt-path-book-and-film?

Raynor Winn/Sally Walker's statement Raynor Winn

I bet GA is now thankful she gave that answer, and that it made it into print.

It almost felt like she was trying to suggest the garage's claim was spurious:

And to the man in the garage, who says I owe him money - if I have missed a debt, please contact me.

Oh some trifling little debt I overlooked.... of £800! I suppose it is small fry to her when she has previously stolen £64k.

So does nobody agree with my theory then?

I was reading the DM comments under one of its articles too and was fascinated by how many of the comments referenced social class. Several were along the 'typical middle-class grifters' type, but some called the Walkers 'upper-class', which I thought was hilarious.

I realise I've never heard Tim/Moth speak (can anyone point me to any audio/video interviews with him? They all seem to be Sally/Raynor), but Sally/Raynor sounds ordinarily rural Midlands working/lower-middle-class to me. Which fits with her growing up as the child of a tenant farmer near Melton Mowbray.

Moth is described as a 'townie' who shows up in Ray's life when she was at college, a free spirit in 'Celtic plaits' and a RAF trenchcoat, and who has apparently spent his life on environmental protests. Ray's family hate him because they think he's 'useless', 'lazy', a 'townie' and not a farmer. All we hear about his family is that, like Ray's, they're not wealthy enough to go abroad on holiday and his father wears a flat cap. Moth later works as a gardener and plasterer.

Unless someone is going to tell me that Moth/Tim in fact drawls like Anthony Blanche in a Brideshead adaptation, he sounds like a standard enough older version of Swampy, who goes from environmental protests to a life on the land in Wales...?

The same doctor (particular if in a subspecialty) can have outreach clinics at a different trust, so the 2015 and 2019 letters could be by the same person but dictated and sent from different trusts.

The 2025 letter mentions being a video consultation, which of course is much more frequent now post COVID. The paragraph about the Walkers and the film is strangely worded. I do wonder if the writer suspected that they would face some sort of questioning, hence offering to be available for Tim if needed.

There's a theme of impulsive decision making throughout.

I wonder if there will be a claim of undiagnosed ADHD at some point? 🤔🫣

Embezzlement of £64,000 from a small business may have caused considerable 'collateral damage'. The sister of Martin Hemmings (Jill) has commented on the iPaper FB page that "She stole from my brother Martin hemmings.It broke his heart". Martin Hemmings died in 2012 aged 65.

His absolute diligence have ensured that we can securely offer you the Gangani Farmhouse in the Free Prize Draw.

This line from the blurb about the Financial Controller gets me. It sounds exactly like the scam emails where billionaires offer you huge sums of money from the goodness of their hearts.

She doesn’t seem able to understand that because she made the loss of the house central to the narrative of her book, the reason for the loan is part of the story.

However, I assume this is being discussed behind closed doors, not least by the film company, who I think were trying to sell US distribution?

@DiamondThrone re your earlier post:

Where would be next. Needs to be somewhere a long way from Cornwall, off the beaten path. East Anglia? Scotland?

I think Norfolk – maybe fit in a North Norfolk Coast AONB walk – and then Outer Hebrides!

People think financial crime is victimless but it can be truly devastating

it can often lead to financial collapse and it is often a trusted individual who has done it and that can be very painful and cause trust issues

and she says the company was a bit of a mess - sorry but it’s not unusual for bookkeepers to have to sort out ‘messes’ as it’s kind of their job to get all the docs etc together and make sense of them. A lot of small companies are run by people amazing at their job but rubbish at the financial side - hence the need for bookkeepers and accountants. Sounds like she saw the mess and took advantage rather than doing her job.

What goes around comes around. Karma as it were.

Whilst it could be presumed that her husband's medical history is private, if you write a book that is completely based around two whopping untruths and herald this as a true and honest story of your journey it's always going to unravel into this unhappy situation.

Embezzling £64k from a previous employer and trying to pass off a completely different narrative as to why you lost your house in the first place as your starting point in changing your life is highly dishonest.

Under different circumstances she would have been in prison for fraud and embezzlement.

Then constantly referencing her husband's illness and life limiting condition and being linked to certain charities, whilst at the same time giving reference to their walking helping his condition, again is deeply concerning.

There's just no escaping the fact that the whopper of the lie regarding why they were homeless that led them to embark on their epic journey just renders everything worthless.

I don't have the book (Salt Path) but @DisappointedReader said her copy has a statement on the flyleaf saying that everything was true (can't remember the wording. OP can you help?

From Amazon the blurb on the back includes: 'The Salt Path is an honest and life-affirming true story'

On the Doctor and his odd book review of TSP.

He wrote: "A point that’s highly relevant to medical practice, however, is a recurring theme of The Salt Path: when you hit rock bottom, the only way is up. That’s if you allow yourself to try, and are willing to risk that you might die laughing in the effort…" and "I must say that Raynor Winn (et al!) provide a compelling (if not scientifically irrefutable) case for the benefits of positive action and of physical therapy, even for the ghastliest of neurodegenerative conditions."

Like others on here, I have first-hand experience of a relative with a rare, incurable neurodegenerative condition (not CBD in this case). Anyone with this experience knows that when you think you've reached "rock bottom", it can and does get worse.

My relative's diagnosis was year one. By year three he was reliant on a wheelchair, had speech problems and suffered side-effects of medicines including severe hallucinations. At year five this man who used to hike in the Lake District and the Alps was unable to move unaided, was reliant upon PEG feeding, upon others to turn him in bed and wash him, lacked the strength to hold a book and the dexterity to turn the pages, was unable to speak even basic sentences...The implication, even if unintentional, that he just didn't "try" hard enough to halt the progress of his disease is sickening.

For families, the emotional impact and despair at seeing the effects of a neurodegenerative condition on their loved ones - and on their own lives - is devastating. A Consultant Neurologist would know this because it's something they see and deal with every day. And it's inexplicable to me that a Consultant Neurologist should be so flippant (imo) about the issue, regardless of whether they know the individual or not.

For context, I did read TSP a few years ago and remember thinking if "Moth Winn"'s condition and improvement as described was true, then there was a valuable seam of research to be followed up. But, as far as I know, it hasn't been. And now it seems that his condition wasn't as described. He has something - but what that is may never be known. I sincerely hope that his condition doesn't deteriorate any further. However, for his wife to appropriate the misery and very real pain of families dealing with incurable neurodegenerative diagnoses across not just one but three books is unconscionable.

Apologies if it's felt this is a derail of the thread; of all the elements of the sorry saga of TSP, this is the one directly bearing on my (and many others') life and it makes me angry. For those posters/readers who have lived, or are living, it, my thoughts are with you.

You can hear Moth talk here (skip to 1:40):

In my limited experience (looking after my sick father) consultants write letters back to the patient’s GP so there is a record of the test results and treatment plans. The fact the latest Feb 2025 letter is just addressed to ‘dear colleague’ rather than a specific dr and that the farm owner and locals say they left months ago inclines me to think they had left back in Feb. Possibly going underground ahead of the film release (or needing to exit Cornwall as their past had caught up with them) and told the consultant they hadn’t registered with a new GP yet. They may well have discussed that the progression was so slow they were starting to be doubted hence getting an atypical style report of Moth’s atypical condition.

The fly leaf blurb reads

"This book is a work of non-fiction based on the life of the author. In some limited cases, the names of people or detail of places or events have been changed to protect the privacy of others. The author has stated to the publishers that, except in such respects, the contents of the book are true. Any medical information in this book is based on the author's personal experience and should not be relied on as a substitute for professional advice. The author and publishers disclaim, as far as the law allows, any liability arising directly or indirectly from the use, misuse, or any information in this book"

Appreciate the gist of what you're saying, but don't agree at all that astute MNers racking over researching details is unnecessary.

Regarding TW's ultra swift job progression, this signals that he was also good at charming his way in the world.

One thing the disillusioned TSP readership on here is trying to discern is whether TW/Moth was just being dragged along by his wife against his better judgement, or equally active in all the manipulation and deceit.

Thank you, I can see it now. Apologies for talking nonsense and any confusion caused.

So just to confirm: he has never appeared in an interview with her? Ever?

Well his "investment in his friends property portfolio" teaches us that he's hardly a dewy-eyed daydreamer

Coming from the Midlands myself - I would say that Moth has a Black Country accent.

Before he moved to North Wales Tim Walker was alleged to be not just a plasterer but a master plasterer. Plasterers are always in demand & well paid. I wonder why he didn't persevere with his trade even part time to bring in some extra cash.

These two statements are somewhat at odds:

”This is deeply personal information that no-one should ever be forced to share.“

“I have charted Moth’s condition with such a level of honesty … My books have become a record of his health … Through the movement issues, the bowel problems, the memory slips, the stiffness, the pain, the fatigue, the obsessions, and the despair.”