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

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?

Thread 4 https://www.mumsnet.com/talk/am_i_being_unreasonable/5370609-thread-4-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 also want to know more about the sudden move to North Wales ...

What's weird @Pianogirl1994 is that no matter how many times people explain to you "why" this and "why" that, you just keep asking but why????

Ros Hemmings never contacted the Observer, the Observer found her, and once found she spoke. There is nothing odd or unreasonable about that.

Yes, they will be feeling rather salty, I imagine.

I can't believe we are calling anything by the DM excellent! What is the MN world coming to?!

Having said that, and given I'm allergic to clicking on any DM links, can you tell me what it said?!

There is an archive link somewhere in this thread.

Your challenge is to locate it.

And I forget what it said because there have been so many articles they've all merged into one giant one.

They went to the village in France and got a good photo of the house and pigeon loft, I remember that.

Like a toddler

and of course Mrs Hemmings was grieving for her husband, and navigating life. In fact it kind of shows her as quietly dignified that she didn't go rushing around trying to sell the story.

@Pianogirl1994 I feel like you are being purposely obtuse

the book came out 7 years ago and used a pen name. I heard of the book but I never saw photos of the author.

she may well have decided she wasn’t going to talk about it until asked so when Chloe called her she told her what happened.

its clear from the sister that spoke that this deeply wounded Martin hemmings before he died and perhaps 7 years ago the family just didn’t feel strong enough to confront it

there were also tweets from people in the book world saying they’d always known she had been dishonest - so perhaps the publisher had just done a really good job of helping her bury things

maybe the press held off because she promised interviews etc - like a lot of celebs will do pap walks or give an exclusive to a paper if they promise not to publish a damaging story

there are so many reasons I can think of for why it hasn’t come out earlier - but none of them change the fact that sally walker lied and stole

Ah, it seems you didn’t see the letter from 2019 which states that certain symptoms “caused us to formulate this as an atypical form of CBD”.

There’s also one dated February 2025 which mentions “his prior CBS diagnosis”.

Both of which prove that, at the time the book was written, he had been given that diagnosis, regardless of what may be the case now. Perhaps the newspaper would be able to publish their conversations with the medical experts they spoke to, to prove that they are telling the truth as well? Surely that’s only fair?

@Pianogirl1994the book was published by Raynor Winn. Everyone in Wales knew them as Sally and Tim Walker. Early publicity was just press not tv so there was no opportunity for anyone to recognise them. As the book took off they may have been the odd photo but unless someone saw it and made the connection Sally Walker was untraceable.

I feel like you are being purposely obtuse

I second that!

And saw a Bernese dog but failed to provide a photo of it. Criminal

Except that Winn is her maiden name and Raynor the family name. Lots of places in Wales, especially rural ones, are quite close knit so everyone knows everyone else.

Also, on her website and Wikipedia page (and in interviews), she made no secret as to their real names. So utterly traceable, one could argue…

Also I'm not aware that the book came out as an instant smash hit seven years ago, unlike something like 50 shades of gray for example (please don't judge me, it was the only thing I could think of off the top of my head!) which seemed to arrive out of nowhere as an instant bestseller. So even if Mrs Hemmings had banged the drum from the get go would anyone at the tabloids really have been interested enough to listen or care.

Also, on her website and Wikipedia page (and in interviews), she made no secret as to their real names.

😂

You're on a mission Pianogirl, so I'll leave you to it!

Maybe you need to read Thread 1 to 4, as this has come up several times and already been patiently stepped through?

You don't show much empathy for the grieving widow who wanted to put a very stressful experience behind her and forget about the people who embezzled £64k from her hard-working husband. She also says in her video interview with The Observer that she didn't think she would be believed and didn't know who to contact at a newspaper.

you know there is more than one book right? And that the 2nd and 3rd update don’t say “we saw more doctors and it is very slow progressing so all is better than we previously said”. Instead they wrote that his previous brain scan of dead brain areas has somehow fixed itself and the scan was now clear. Yet she doesn’t provide any evidence of these scans. So I don’t believe her.

Why do you think the PSPA / CBD charity terminated their relationship with them?

She’s not from wales and her up elsewhere so how would the villagers know?

When will that new article by The Observer appear?

Is someone here just now discovering the whole news item? The wiki page was updated with their real names last Sunday as soon as The Observer article came out. RW had not called herself SW in interviews prior to that and her statement on the RW website came out a few days ago (also after the investigative journalist's article came out).

Also - it looks like her real name was only added to her wiki after the observer article came out

I don't know about her website but their real names were only added to the Wikipedia entry after the Observer article came out.

Their real names of Sally and Tim Walker were very much a secret and not on the Raynor Winn website. And they were not born and bred in Wales so the historic family names were not known locally.

You don’t seem to have much background knowledge of this story so perhaps read the articles and videos we have been linked to before posting further.

Yes! 🐶

Would there have been much of a market for a powder blue suit from the 50's? (Or was it the 60's)? Can't imagine the sale of that made much of a dent in the £9000.

She also says in her video interview with The Observer that she didn't think she would be believed and didn't know who to contact at a newspaper.

This rings so true to me. Everyone knows that major companies like Penguin will have access to whole teams of lawyers are PR people, not to mention lots of money. I cannot imagine how daunting it must be to pit yourself up against them. And when your grieving too.

I’m old enough to remember buying the Sunday papers outside Charing Cross at about 10pm on Saturday night. Now we have to wait patiently till they want to release it.