Thread 5: 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 item in the Observer
https://observer.co.uk/news/national/article/the-salt-path-the-truth-behind-the-blockbuster-book-video

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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

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Raynor Winn/Sally Walker's statement Raynor Winn

I think a lot of the initial 'handwringing, impolite to question, just a creative oopsie' public reaction has been led by the lacklustre 'copy but don't delve further' media response (for who knows what vested interests).

I think the initial media response was just because it took time for other outlets to track down their own sources who were willing to talk and who had anything relevant to say, and to fact check. Chloe said she has been working on this for months; other journos have had less than a week.

I first heard of TSP 2-3 weeks ago when I read something about it online. Then I was on holiday with a friend who said she had recently bought it and was planning to start reading it when she got home - which was the weekend Chloe's story broke.

It may be a "tax-advantaged" business. Owning farmland has historically been a way for wealthy individuals to invest and reduce their tax liabilities though it's unclear how effective that strategy still is today under current UK tax law and the new inheritance tax proposals.

Ooof that new Mail article is quite, um, thorough. It's worth a read simply because it sets out most of what's in this thread in a clear fashion, and then introduces some more questions about their walking via the son's FB posts.

Also the excellent details about the powder blue Aga and giving a holiday in Rome to their son just before they went broke. I bet she thought she would never get caught.

The French property from that Mail article - well it truly is a wreck and probably worth peanuts.

Yes I agree that’s very likely.

I don't think the Mail ever visited the property in France they only have an arial shot and don't appear to have had a look inside which if they were on the ground is what they would probably have done. You can buy hi-def satellite photos from Maxar on demand and phoned up the mayor and a neighbour. As a pp said you could have constructed 99% of the story from these threads.

Wow! The DM have gone deep!!!

That's really impressive from them.

They're usually so superficial.

Don't forget they bought it 18 years ago, it wouldn't have looked like this back then.

The DM article calls the aunt and uncle Jane and Stan. They appear to be the same people as Rebecca and James in the Observer report. I assume they're all pseudonyms but why give them different names? That just adds more confusion.

Sorry someone said they had an uncle called Cooper.

I guess it’s mostly bullshit then, unless their son’s very pedestrian Facebook updates from 12 years ago are the real lies 😁

It's very thorough, indeed.

I wonder why the son never made his FB posts private, especially now....

I guess with expensive slate floors, a powder blue aga, and a holiday in Rome, we know what they were spending Martin Hemmings' money on!

And one of the men who ended up with the loan is speaking out as well.

No the DM names them as other family members.

I'm not sure we should be naming family members not involved unless they've spoken up themselves.

Seems as though David L Cooper not involved although he may have been the inspiration for the Cooper who is named in TSP as the childhood friend who set the property business up which TW invested in. Anthony Browne rings true - - TW's mother's maiden name was Margaret C Browne, so Anthony Browne would have been her brother.

Still, the couple have seen their lifestyle dramatically improve since the book came out seven years ago.
After finishing their walk they settled in a flat in a converted Methodist chapel in the Cornish village of Polruan.
According to Walker's telling of the story, they bumped into the owner of the property by chance after sitting beside her on a bench towards the end of her trek and she offered them her flat to rent.

Is this the chapel ?

https://www.cornishhorizons.co.uk/cottage/75740-chapel-retreat

Crumbs @sualipa that doesn't exactly match Sally Walker's description if it is!!!

That's true, but why on earth would you remortgage your own house to buy it? At best that's an utterly stupid bit of decision making

The son’s FB posts are really damning (from the DM article above).

It annoys me the people who say ‘she hasn’t murdered anyone’ or ‘but her book has done such good’

and then they are victim blaming the hemmings and overlooking the medical doubts she introduced

it’s amazing how people are so happy to judge if someone’s good outweighs bad on behalf of other people. It’s easy when all you’ve done is enjoyed a book but they need to look at it though the eyes of her actual victims

Didn't SW claim in her rebuttal that they bought the plot to prevent a property developer from getting his hands on it, which might have impacted the adjacent property, owned by TW's brother.

There is so much interest in this story the newspapers are going to fling money and resources at it. Chloe said there was more to come and it looks as if other journalists are picking up the same vibe. Now the Mail has named names perhaps others will come forward within the wider Walker family.

So many new snippets in that DM article. It’s a thorough job and I am hoping the Observer has a follow up to come tonight.

So the relative who gave the loan is Anthony Browne who died in 2012.

The son has clearly been close to them and his Facebook posts are incriminating them. He talks of teaching his dad how to surf in Newquay in July 2013 which is just about when he was consulting doctors due to being so ill and they were giving him a terminal diagnosis!

The daughter currently lives with them and is a tattoo artist (I think I found her website last night but any details on how to contact her or where she operates from had been deleted - it was just a few photos so this controversy is clearly impacting her life.)

re the photo of the house in France it has a name credited on it. I think they have had someone flying a drone to get the shot as google maps doesn’t show any street view of that track. Looking through the windows would be trespassing so I doubt they would report that even if they did it to try and get clues.

She did say that. But a poster on here said she knew the area and the idea a property developer would want it was preposterous.

I expect Sally Walker somehow blames Tim's brother for them buying it.

In the Observer podcast Chloe referred to a man who had CPD who said that the book had given him and his wife hope but that had been taken away from them.

Fraud is never a victimless crime. I also wonder what Emmaus think - as it will also confirm people’s prejudices about homeless people.

I wonder if the DM has published that today to stuff up anything the Observer might be planning

I want to understand the 'investment' made into Cooper's business, and why they thought they had a right to have it returned.

However, I suspect that might never be clear.