Page 29 | Thread 12: To feel disappointed after reading this in The Observer about the author and her husband from The Salt Path book and film?

DisappointedReader · 2025-08-02T11:25:02+00:00

The Observer [[https://observer.co.uk/news/national/article/the-real-salt-path-how-the-couple-behind-a-bestseller-left-a-trail-of-debt-and-deceit The real Salt Path: how a blockbuster book and film were ...]] 2nd Observer [[https://observer.co.uk/news/national/article/the-salt-path-whats-in-the-book-and-what-the-observer-has-found https://observer.co.uk/news/national/article/the-salt-path-whats-in-the-book-and-what-the-observer-has-found]] 3rd Observer [[https://observer.co.uk/news/national/article/the-salt-path-the-truth-behind-the-blockbuster-book-video https://observer.co.uk/news/national/article/the-salt-path-the-truth-behind-the-blockbuster-book-video]] 4th Observer [[https://observer.co.uk/news/national/article/moth-told-me-he-was-dying-when-a-doctor-had-said-his-brain-scan-was-normal ‘I felt I was being gaslit’ – the landlord who helped Ray...]] Raynor Winn/Sally Walker's statement [[https://www.raynorwinn.co.uk/ Raynor Winn]] Thread One ^[[https://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?* www.mumsnet.com/talk/amibeingunreasonable/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 [[https://www.mumsnet.com/talk/am_i_being_unreasonable/5368685-thread-2-to-feel-disappointed-after-reading-this-in-the-observer-about-the-author-and-her-husband-from-the-salt-path-book-and-film?page=1 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 https://www.mumsnet.com/talk/ami]]^[[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 being]]^[[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 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 https://www.mumsnet.com/talk/ami]]^[[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 being]]^[[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 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?]] Thread 5 [[https://www.mumsnet.com/talk/am_i_being_unreasonable/5371570-thread-5-to-feel-disappointed-after-reading-this-in-the-observer-about-the-author-and-her-husband-from-the-salt-path-book-and-film Thread 5: To feel disappointed after reading this in The Observer about the author and her husband from The Salt Path book and film? | Mumsnet]] Thread 6 [[https://www.mumsnet.com/talk/am_i_being_unreasonable/5372494-thread-6-to-feel-disappointed-after-reading-this-in-the-observer-about-the-author-and-her-husband-from-the-salt-path-book-and-film https://www.mumsnet.com/talk/ami]]^[[https://www.mumsnet.com/talk/am_i_being_unreasonable/5372494-thread-6-to-feel-disappointed-after-reading-this-in-the-observer-about-the-author-and-her-husband-from-the-salt-path-book-and-film being]]^[[https://www.mumsnet.com/talk/am_i_being_unreasonable/5372494-thread-6-to-feel-disappointed-after-reading-this-in-the-observer-about-the-author-and-her-husband-from-the-salt-path-book-and-film unreasonable/5372494-thread-6-to-feel-disappointed-after-reading-this-in-the-observer-about-the-author-and-her-]] [[https://www.mumsnet.com/talk/am_i_being_unreasonable/5372494-thread-6-to-feel-disappointed-after-reading-this-in-the-observer-about-the-author-and-her-husband-from-the-salt-path-book-and-film husband-from-the-salt-path-book-and-film?]] Thread 7 [[https://www.mumsnet.com/talk/am_i_being_unreasonable/5373425-thread-7-to-feel-disappointed-after-reading-this-in-the-observer-about-the-author-and-her-husband-from-the-salt-path-book-and-film? www.mumsnet.com/talk/ami]]^[[https://www.mumsnet.com/talk/am_i_being_unreasonable/5373425-thread-7-to-feel-disappointed-after-reading-this-in-the-observer-about-the-author-and-her-husband-from-the-salt-path-book-and-film? being]]^[[https://www.mumsnet.com/talk/am_i_being_unreasonable/5373425-thread-7-to-feel-disappointed-after-reading-this-in-the-observer-about-the-author-and-her-husband-from-the-salt-path-book-and-film? unreasonable/5373425-thread-7-to-feel-disappointed-after-reading-this-in-the-observer-about-the-author-and-her-husband-from-the-salt-path-book-and-film?]] Thread 8 [[https://www.mumsnet.com/talk/am_i_being_unreasonable/5375023-thread-8-to-feel-disappointed-after-reading-this-in-the-observer-about-the-author-and-her-husband-from-the-salt-path-book-and-film? www.mumsnet.com/talk/ami]]^[[https://www.mumsnet.com/talk/am_i_being_unreasonable/5375023-thread-8-to-feel-disappointed-after-reading-this-in-the-observer-about-the-author-and-her-husband-from-the-salt-path-book-and-film? being]]^[[https://www.mumsnet.com/talk/am_i_being_unreasonable/5375023-thread-8-to-feel-disappointed-after-reading-this-in-the-observer-about-the-author-and-her-husband-from-the-salt-path-book-and-film? unreasonable/5375023-thread-8-to-feel-disappointed-after-reading-this-in-the-observer-about-the-author-and-her-husband-from-the-salt-path-book-and-film?]] Thread 9 [[https://www.mumsnet.com/talk/am_i_being_unreasonable/5376712-thread-9-to-feel-disappointed-after-reading-this-in-the-observer-about-the-author-and-her-husband-from-the-salt-path-book-and-film? www.mumsnet.com/talk/ami]]^[[https://www.mumsnet.com/talk/am_i_being_unreasonable/5376712-thread-9-to-feel-disappointed-after-reading-this-in-the-observer-about-the-author-and-her-husband-from-the-salt-path-book-and-film? being]]^[[https://www.mumsnet.com/talk/am_i_being_unreasonable/5376712-thread-9-to-feel-disappointed-after-reading-this-in-the-observer-about-the-author-and-her-husband-from-the-salt-path-book-and-film? unreasonable/5376712-thread-9-to-feel-disappointed-after-reading-this-in-the-observer-about-the-author-and-her-husband-from-the-salt-path-book-and-film?]] Thread 10 [[https://www.mumsnet.com/talk/am_i_being_unreasonable/5378984-thread-10-to-feel-disappointed-after-reading-this-in-the-observer-about-the-author-and-her-husband-from-the-salt-path-book-and-film https://www.mumsnet.com/talk/ami]]^[[https://www.mumsnet.com/talk/am_i_being_unreasonable/5378984-thread-10-to-feel-disappointed-after-reading-this-in-the-observer-about-the-author-and-her-husband-from-the-salt-path-book-and-film being]]^[[https://www.mumsnet.com/talk/am_i_being_unreasonable/5378984-thread-10-to-feel-disappointed-after-reading-this-in-the-observer-about-the-author-and-her-husband-from-the-salt-path-book-and-film unreasonable/5378984-thread-10-to-feel-disappointed-after-reading-this-in-the-observer-about-the-author-and-her-husband-from-the-salt-path-book-and-film?]] Thread 11 [[https://www.mumsnet.com/talk/am_i_being_unreasonable/5382212-thread-11-to-feel-disappointed-after-reading-this-in-the-observer-about-the-author-and-her-husband-from-the-salt-path-book-and-film https://www.mumsnet.com/talk/am_i_being_unreasonable/5382212-thread-11-to-feel-disappointed-after-reading-this-in-the-observer-about-the-author-and-her-husband-from-the-salt-path-book-and-film?]] New posters welcome. It would be helpful to read at least the four Observer items above before posting. There are currently 10 items on The Observer website [[https://observer.co.uk/collections/the-real-salt-path The real Salt Path | The Observer]] To all - Please be extremely cautious when it comes to naming or implicating people and addresses not in the public eye or with no direct connection to the story, and around the understandable health speculations, especially where details are unclear or still emerging. Please do not engage with visitors who seem to have their own agenda and seek to derail. Avoid @'ing and quoting them as - from experience - this will only encourage them back to the threads. We have done amazingly well together for eleven very interesting, very serious and very silly threads so far. I can't be here as much as I'd like so all help with keeping our discussion walking along in a healthy and civil fashion is very welcome. No saltiness. Keep to the path. Will our life-size cardboard cut-out Simon Armitage keep his head? *NB Timeline coming in the first posts of this thread for reference.*

candycane222 · 04/08/2025 14:09

I think the walk may have started soon after the house loss as a way to get away from N Wales, have something to do/somewhere to sleep without facing all the questions that friends and family would have if they asked to stay /stayed for a while.

Licking their (self-inflicted) wounds in private perhaps?

candycane222 · 04/08/2025 14:11

...but quite possibly the walk was not really done in two long continuous sections as per the narrative in the book? But took place in bits and bobs. Which of course is a lot less heroic-sounding

notwavingbutdrowning1 · 04/08/2025 14:18

AldoGordo · 04/08/2025 13:49

How did the book get published? By that, I don't necessarily mean how was it allowed to be published, I mean what was the publication process and timeline of it? Because it seems apparent that 8 to 9 months is not enough time to go through all of the usual steps to publish. So how did they genuinely achieve it?

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The normal lead time for a book is 12-18 months - that might include it actually being written. Eight months is certainly possible - I've worked on books that have been rushed out in 6 months and Michael O'Mara famously got a book out in 6 weeks - back in the 90s, I think. Lists are decided in advance but something else can be slotted in late on. The normal publishing process is commissioning, writing and/or rewriting, various rounds of editing and proofreading. The typescript might also be sent out to an expert or for a legal read if appropriate, but that can be done concurrently. Parallel with all that is design, marketing, cover copy, subbing it into bookshops. Freelancers tend to be used for editing, proofreading, design and they all need to be booked in. The main thing that makes the process take so long is printing. Most printing is done in the Far East now because it's cheaper and you have to allow several weeks for the copies to be shipped back. I have known printing be switched to a (more costly) UK printer if the book is way behind schedule.

In terms of speeding up the publication process to less than 12 months, this is only done if the book has to meet a certain date - for example if it's about the Olympics, you've got to get it out at the same time as the Olympics. Or it might be a tie in with a film that's being released on a certain date; to maximise sales and publicity the book needs to be out at the same time. But none of this applies to TSP and it's usually only books that are likely to be very profitable that they would pull out all the stops for, not a first book by an unknown. As I said before, PRH would probably have wanted a spring publication date for TSP, but that's the only likely constraint I can see.

Snowfalling · 04/08/2025 14:21

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-14967997/Cafe-owner-Salt-Path-author-falsely-portrayed-mother-bully-book.html

Has this been posted? really late to this thread. Seems they exaggerated/lied about their experience at a cafe making. No sure why I'm surprised any more 😅

Woman 'felt sick' when The Salt Path author 'wrote her mum as a bully'

Joanna Cocking, 51, said that while the Porthmellin cafe - run by her mother - was not mentioned by name in The Salt Path, there is only one cafe in Mullion Cove.

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-14967997/Cafe-owner-Salt-Path-author-falsely-portrayed-mother-bully-book.html

Snowfalling · 04/08/2025 14:28

Snowfalling · 04/08/2025 14:21

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-14967997/Cafe-owner-Salt-Path-author-falsely-portrayed-mother-bully-book.html

Has this been posted? really late to this thread. Seems they exaggerated/lied about their experience at a cafe making. No sure why I'm surprised any more 😅

Aso, does anyone remember which bit of the book the above encounter is mentioned? I'm rereading bits from the book but cannot find it

fruit66 · 04/08/2025 14:30

candycane222 · 04/08/2025 14:11

...but quite possibly the walk was not really done in two long continuous sections as per the narrative in the book? But took place in bits and bobs. Which of course is a lot less heroic-sounding

I tend to agree. When I read the book in 2018 I remember being annoyed that they hadn’t really done the walk at all - instead they appeared to have managed about half of it and then stopped and done bits and pieces the following year. On this measure, I could claim to have walked the SW Coast path twice over in the same length of time as RW and Mothman, simply by walking my dog a couple of kilometres up and down the coast path everyday over a two year period.
I’m being facetious but you see what I mean - this wasn’t the epic 630mile walk we’ve been sold. It looks more like one biggish walk and a series of strolls and rambles.

Fandango52 · 04/08/2025 14:30

FloreatAmbridge · 04/08/2025 13:27

From the original Observer splash:

"Back in Wales, Hemmings recalls how her husband Martin was contacted by “some fancy London solicitor” who told them Walker would pay all the missing money and would cover legal costs on both sides if – and only if – Martin agreed not to pursue a criminal case against her. Martin also had to sign a non-disclosure agreement." (My bold)

https://observer.co.uk/news/national/article/the-real-salt-path-how-the-couple-behind-a-bestseller-left-a-trail-of-debt-and-deceit

The non-admissions is a separate but linked thing. As others have noted, SW said she paid the money to the Hemmings' on a "non-admissions basis."

Edited

Show quote history

The non-admissions is a separate but linked thing. As others have noted, SW said she paid the money to the Hemmings' on a "non-admissions basis."

I just wanted to clear up my understanding of the ‘non-admissions basis’ point, as I didn’t know if it was related to an NDA or was something else.

I’ve just done a quick Google, and have included a summary below:

If a party in a legal case cannot admit or deny the allegation (perhaps because they lack sufficient information or the matter is unclear), they can plead a non-admission.
This means they are not admitting or denying the allegation, but are requiring the other party to prove it.
A non-admission avoids committing to a position while acknowledging the matter is in dispute. It essentially tells the opposing party, "I am not admitting this, and you must prove it to me".

I think this suggests RW’s embezzlement couldn’t be proved (unless I’m misunderstanding). This would make sense, as we know RW was arrested for the embezzlement but not charged (presumably because of a lack of clear evidence?)

All of this comes with a big fat disclaimer that this is my general understanding of the embezzlement situation as someone who is not a lawyer, so I’d be very grateful if anyone who is a lawyer - or who has a better grasp of the situation than me - could clarify any bits I have misunderstood here.

notwavingbutdrowning1 · 04/08/2025 14:31

Via her lawyers, Winn said to The Observer: “The Salt Path is an honest account of what we lived through on the path, and I stand by it.”

That's from Salray's statement, quoted in the latest Observer article. This point might have been made before but 'an honest account of what we lived through on the path' leaves plenty of room for dishonesty concerning events off the path! It's very carefully phrased.

AldoGordo · 04/08/2025 14:36

Catwith69lives · 04/08/2025 13:47

Gillan creek - old man and a dog in a rowing boat. There is a public ferry apparently.

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Thanks. I've looked this up and found the ferry is very much like a rowing boat but with an outboard motor, which technically was what RW decribed when writing:

Hardly a ferry, more a wooden rowing boat through a time warp.

"Time warp" being an indirect reference to it having a modern motor.

Any other ferry inconsistencies?

FloreatAmbridge · 04/08/2025 14:41

Fandango52 · 04/08/2025 14:30

The non-admissions is a separate but linked thing. As others have noted, SW said she paid the money to the Hemmings' on a "non-admissions basis."

I just wanted to clear up my understanding of the ‘non-admissions basis’ point, as I didn’t know if it was related to an NDA or was something else.

I’ve just done a quick Google, and have included a summary below:

If a party in a legal case cannot admit or deny the allegation (perhaps because they lack sufficient information or the matter is unclear), they can plead a non-admission.
This means they are not admitting or denying the allegation, but are requiring the other party to prove it.
A non-admission avoids committing to a position while acknowledging the matter is in dispute. It essentially tells the opposing party, "I am not admitting this, and you must prove it to me".

I think this suggests RW’s embezzlement couldn’t be proved (unless I’m misunderstanding). This would make sense, as we know RW was arrested for the embezzlement but not charged (presumably because of a lack of clear evidence?)

All of this comes with a big fat disclaimer that this is my general understanding of the embezzlement situation as someone who is not a lawyer, so I’d be very grateful if anyone who is a lawyer - or who has a better grasp of the situation than me - could clarify any bits I have misunderstood here.

Show quote history

"I think this suggests RW’s embezzlement couldn’t be proved (unless I’m misunderstanding). This would make sense, as we know RW was arrested for the embezzlement but not charged (presumably because of a lack of clear evidence?)"

Sort of. When SW paid the Hemmings' close to £100,000, she did so without admitting to having done anything wrong - thats what 'non-admissions basis' means in this context. At the same time, as part of the agreement, the Hemmings' dropped the complaint with the police. That doesn't however mean that there was insufficient proof, and the police could have continued the criminal investigation. But in the absence of a confession and with the victims now 'satisfied', there'd have been little incentive for them to do so; so they dropped the case.

Fandango52 · 04/08/2025 14:43

DisappointedReader · 04/08/2025 14:00

The first KEY ones to spring to my mind concern the before and miraculous after brain scans and the terminal diagnosis with prognosis of 2 years (said in a filmed interview by SW - can't remember which one)/1-3 months (said to Bill Cole by TW - Observer). As medical records are rightly confidential, we will only know if Raymoth choose to release clear evidence to support their claims. Unless there is a leak. I think these claims made about TW's health are crucial to them being able to salvage their reputation. In comparison even SW's embezzlement is less serious.

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I agree with this, especially because:

TW’s illness is a key plot point of not just TSP but all three books, and the Walker-Winns have made money off that through the book and film profits
it has also served to explain his absence in promotion opportunities for the books
his experience of living well with an apparent terminal illness has inspired people with serious (sometimes terminal) conditions to go on long walks, even when they’re extremely clinically vulnerable
the account of TW’s illness, from diagnosis date and detail to his ability to live with his illness and his life expectancy, as given in all 3 books (according to accounts on here and Chloe H’s article, as I haven’t yet read TWS and LL) and in RW’s interviews is inconsistent and unclear

Fandango52 · 04/08/2025 14:48

Snowfalling · 04/08/2025 14:28

Aso, does anyone remember which bit of the book the above encounter is mentioned? I'm rereading bits from the book but cannot find it

Show quote history

This is the bit when they visit the cafe in Mullion Cove in Cornwall.

However, the key differences between the real-life episode and what’s retold in TSP are:

the gender of the cafe owner has been changed (from a woman to a man)
the cafe decor has been changed
the cafe owner’s manner and professionalism is very different in the book
RW has likely invented for the purposes of TSP the employee who serves her and Moth free paninis and then leaves his job

Relevant TSP extract below:

We sat in a busy café in Mullion Cove and ordered tea for one with two cups. Exhausted and damp, the attraction of a chair in a dry café was too strong. A man in his twenties waited tables, cleared tables, politely dealt with grumpy customers, cut cakes, swept the floor, helped old ladies to their seats, took payments. We stretched the tea, too cosy to leave. The owner came in.
‘What the fuck do you think you’re doing? There’s two tables out there uncleared. What do I pay you for? You’re fucking lazy.’ The man cleared the tables without complaint. The owner left, followed shortly afterwards by most of the customers. It was a few minutes before closing time when the man came out of the kitchen with two paninis and put them on our table.
‘Sorry, mate, we didn’t order those.’
‘I know, but you look like you need them. You’ll just need to eat them outside; I’m closing up.’
‘Sorry, but we can’t afford them, we can’t take them.’
‘Yes you can, I’m not charging you.’
‘You can’t do that.’
‘I can because I’m leaving. He can stuff his job.’
We sat outside; he followed us and locked the door, putting the key through the letterbox.

Baileysandcream · 04/08/2025 14:48

Fandango52 · 04/08/2025 14:30

The non-admissions is a separate but linked thing. As others have noted, SW said she paid the money to the Hemmings' on a "non-admissions basis."

I just wanted to clear up my understanding of the ‘non-admissions basis’ point, as I didn’t know if it was related to an NDA or was something else.

I’ve just done a quick Google, and have included a summary below:

If a party in a legal case cannot admit or deny the allegation (perhaps because they lack sufficient information or the matter is unclear), they can plead a non-admission.
This means they are not admitting or denying the allegation, but are requiring the other party to prove it.
A non-admission avoids committing to a position while acknowledging the matter is in dispute. It essentially tells the opposing party, "I am not admitting this, and you must prove it to me".

I think this suggests RW’s embezzlement couldn’t be proved (unless I’m misunderstanding). This would make sense, as we know RW was arrested for the embezzlement but not charged (presumably because of a lack of clear evidence?)

All of this comes with a big fat disclaimer that this is my general understanding of the embezzlement situation as someone who is not a lawyer, so I’d be very grateful if anyone who is a lawyer - or who has a better grasp of the situation than me - could clarify any bits I have misunderstood here.

Show quote history

I think this suggests RW’s embezzlement couldn’t be proved (unless I’m misunderstanding). This would make sense, as we know RW was arrested for the embezzlement but not charged (presumably because of a lack of clear evidence?)

Not necessarily - if it had been fully and properly investigated it could have been possible to prove - copies of cheques from the bank etc, statements showing the money being paid to RW/SW. It would have taken some time to compile all the evidence.

My understanding was that the case was dropped because the money was repaid with an agreement that no criminal action would be taken against RW.

crossedlines · 04/08/2025 14:49

Fandango52 · 04/08/2025 14:30

The non-admissions is a separate but linked thing. As others have noted, SW said she paid the money to the Hemmings' on a "non-admissions basis."

I just wanted to clear up my understanding of the ‘non-admissions basis’ point, as I didn’t know if it was related to an NDA or was something else.

I’ve just done a quick Google, and have included a summary below:

If a party in a legal case cannot admit or deny the allegation (perhaps because they lack sufficient information or the matter is unclear), they can plead a non-admission.
This means they are not admitting or denying the allegation, but are requiring the other party to prove it.
A non-admission avoids committing to a position while acknowledging the matter is in dispute. It essentially tells the opposing party, "I am not admitting this, and you must prove it to me".

I think this suggests RW’s embezzlement couldn’t be proved (unless I’m misunderstanding). This would make sense, as we know RW was arrested for the embezzlement but not charged (presumably because of a lack of clear evidence?)

All of this comes with a big fat disclaimer that this is my general understanding of the embezzlement situation as someone who is not a lawyer, so I’d be very grateful if anyone who is a lawyer - or who has a better grasp of the situation than me - could clarify any bits I have misunderstood here.

Show quote history

What I’m not clear on (maybe someone with more specialist knowledge can help) is why, if she hadn’t embezzled the money, would she take out a massive loan with a charge on her house in order to end the matter? Wouldn’t the logical step be to call in someone independent (auditor? Accountant? I’m not sure) This would be significantly cheaper than going straight to 100k loan. I would have thought it’s possible to trace money in a small family firm like that, with one book keeper. That loan is equivalent to around 163k in today’s money. There may have been no actual denial or admission but it’s hard to see why an innocent person would jump straight to taking out a loan with an extortionate interest rate….

Fandango52 · 04/08/2025 14:50

FloreatAmbridge · 04/08/2025 13:30

He may just have meant "you won't say it", assuming SW and TW were holding back out of delicacy.

Show quote history

It could be that. That’s what crossed my mind initially.

Cornishwafer · 04/08/2025 14:50

When Mrs Hemmings was interviewed and spoke about SW turning up at her door with a cheque, she said SW claimed Mr Hemmings had 'lent' her the money....I wonder if SW intended using that line of defence to police ...or if that was what she told her family.

Original poster

DisappointedReader · 04/08/2025 14:51

Catwith69lives · 04/08/2025 13:34

Four weeks after the original Observer article as well as the follow up articles in various outlets, what do you think are the KEY questions which remain unanswered at this stage of the controversy?

Who wrote How not to Dal dy Dir and to get hold of a copy/download of it.

This is important for a number of reasons:

Was RW/SW entitled to the valuable first author prize?
Was TSP RW/SW's first ever book, as she claims in The Big Issue and widely elsewhere?
Can MW/TW be believed, for example when he says in the podcast with Sophie Raworth that until TSP he didn't know that his wife could write?
Did RW/SW write HNTDDD as Izzy Wyn-Thomas or not, did MW/TW write it or was it a collaboration between them both (and perhaps a.n.other - their daughter/TW's brother)?
Is anything repeated or similar between HNTDDD and TSP/TWS/LL? This could help clarify timelines and several claims made.
A second book is also mentioned as being in the pipeline when HNTDDD is being touted for sale as the house raffle ticket. Again this sounds in a similar vein to TSP/TWS/LL
Did everyone who bought the book/raffle ticket receive a refund, as RW/SW claims in her statement?
Was this another attempt at fraud, raffling the house whilst claiming that it was mortgage/debt-free when it very clearly wasn't?

255 pages, Paperback
Published
August 15, 2012 by Gangani Publishing Ltd
ISBN
9780957303102 (ISBN10: 0957303106)
ASIN
0957303106
Language
English

Available sources linked to on the threads:
Goodreads Editions of How Not to Dal dy Dir by Izzy Wyn-Thomas
Accidental Smallholders forum
Gangani Publishing Website (archived)
USA/Welsh forum
Others?

NB Izzy Wyn-Thomas
Sounds like is he Winn Thomas?
Thomas Winn - father/son

OP posts:

Snowfalling · 04/08/2025 14:52

Fandango52 · 04/08/2025 14:48

This is the bit when they visit the cafe in Mullion Cove in Cornwall.

However, the key differences between the real-life episode and what’s retold in TSP are:

the gender of the cafe owner has been changed (from a woman to a man)
the cafe decor has been changed
the cafe owner’s manner and professionalism is very different in the book
RW has likely invented for the purposes of TSP the employee who serves her and Moth free paninis and then leaves his job

Relevant TSP extract below:

We sat in a busy café in Mullion Cove and ordered tea for one with two cups. Exhausted and damp, the attraction of a chair in a dry café was too strong. A man in his twenties waited tables, cleared tables, politely dealt with grumpy customers, cut cakes, swept the floor, helped old ladies to their seats, took payments. We stretched the tea, too cosy to leave. The owner came in.
‘What the fuck do you think you’re doing? There’s two tables out there uncleared. What do I pay you for? You’re fucking lazy.’ The man cleared the tables without complaint. The owner left, followed shortly afterwards by most of the customers. It was a few minutes before closing time when the man came out of the kitchen with two paninis and put them on our table.
‘Sorry, mate, we didn’t order those.’
‘I know, but you look like you need them. You’ll just need to eat them outside; I’m closing up.’
‘Sorry, but we can’t afford them, we can’t take them.’
‘Yes you can, I’m not charging you.’
‘You can’t do that.’
‘I can because I’m leaving. He can stuff his job.’
We sat outside; he followed us and locked the door, putting the key through the letterbox.

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Thanks @fandango

Do you which page number it is? I didn't read all of it the first time round as found the dialogue odd and jarring, and SW recounting of her and TW relationship saccharine sweet and smug.

Tidalisland · 04/08/2025 14:52

DisappointedReader · 04/08/2025 14:00

The first KEY ones to spring to my mind concern the before and miraculous after brain scans and the terminal diagnosis with prognosis of 2 years (said in a filmed interview by SW - can't remember which one)/1-3 months (said to Bill Cole by TW - Observer). As medical records are rightly confidential, we will only know if Raymoth choose to release clear evidence to support their claims. Unless there is a leak. I think these claims made about TW's health are crucial to them being able to salvage their reputation. In comparison even SW's embezzlement is less serious.

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Let me caveat by saying that I'm no medic and I think that this may have been alluded to before. DaT scans apparently show the number of dopamine receptor cells in the brain. The quantity of cells can reduce for reasons other than an improvement in disease. A quick Google suggests that certain medications, stress, ADHD, drug use, diet, etc could also be causes. Cells can also regenerate in the absence of these conditions.
Therefore it may be possible that the change in DaT scans cited at the beginning and end of Landlines did occur but was not due to walking the length of the country (and this bit was conveniently left out).
Any medics may be able to throw more light onto this.

RainyTuesdaysAndSunnyWednesdays · 04/08/2025 14:57

Snowfalling · 04/08/2025 14:52

Thanks @fandango

Do you which page number it is? I didn't read all of it the first time round as found the dialogue odd and jarring, and SW recounting of her and TW relationship saccharine sweet and smug.

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Chapter 15 Searching - towards the end

Fandango52 · 04/08/2025 14:57

notwavingbutdrowning1 · 04/08/2025 13:32

I'm beginning to think JI isn't very bright!

Bit harsh! 🤣

Whenever I’ve read or watched interviews with him, he seems pretty switched-on and curious.

My view might be influenced by the fact I really like him as an actor and I think he generally seems quite intelligent from what I’ve seen so far, granted. But I think his staunch defence of them comes from a few things: his contractual obligations to promote the film and not bring it into disrepute, his political beliefs (he seems pretty leftwing and like he sticks up for the ‘underdog’) and the fact he clearly got on well with RayMoth and was obviously very affected by what they told him about what they’d been through.

Maybe he did have private doubts, but there was no point him raising them in public. He would’ve come across as nasty and disrespectful, and it would likely have fallen on deaf ears.

FloreatAmbridge · 04/08/2025 14:58

crossedlines · 04/08/2025 14:49

What I’m not clear on (maybe someone with more specialist knowledge can help) is why, if she hadn’t embezzled the money, would she take out a massive loan with a charge on her house in order to end the matter? Wouldn’t the logical step be to call in someone independent (auditor? Accountant? I’m not sure) This would be significantly cheaper than going straight to 100k loan. I would have thought it’s possible to trace money in a small family firm like that, with one book keeper. That loan is equivalent to around 163k in today’s money. There may have been no actual denial or admission but it’s hard to see why an innocent person would jump straight to taking out a loan with an extortionate interest rate….

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In her 'rebuttal' statement, she said she paid up "because I did not have the evidence required to support what happened." Personally I interpreted this as a thinly-veiled accusation against Mr & Mrs Hemmings, a claim that they had rigged the books. But as @Cornishwafer says, it may instead relate back to an attempt to pass it off as a loan knowingly made by Martin Hemmings. Or both, they're not mutually exclusive.

In any event, it's hard to believe anything she says on this point. If the allegations of embezzlement were untrue, she would be sueing the Observer for libel, and she'd publicly say so. To this point she has not done so.

Fandango52 · 04/08/2025 14:59

crossedlines · 04/08/2025 14:49

What I’m not clear on (maybe someone with more specialist knowledge can help) is why, if she hadn’t embezzled the money, would she take out a massive loan with a charge on her house in order to end the matter? Wouldn’t the logical step be to call in someone independent (auditor? Accountant? I’m not sure) This would be significantly cheaper than going straight to 100k loan. I would have thought it’s possible to trace money in a small family firm like that, with one book keeper. That loan is equivalent to around 163k in today’s money. There may have been no actual denial or admission but it’s hard to see why an innocent person would jump straight to taking out a loan with an extortionate interest rate….

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Agree.

Snowfalling · 04/08/2025 15:01

RainyTuesdaysAndSunnyWednesdays · 04/08/2025 14:57

Chapter 15 Searching - towards the end

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Thanks Rainy, off to have a quick read...

TheBookShelf · 04/08/2025 15:03

FurryHappyKittens · 03/08/2025 16:51

On their marriage certificate, Sally's father's occupation is Farm Stockman.

He wasn't a tenant farmer, as she says in her writing.

Indeed. The tenant was a relative, and SW and her parents did live at the farm with the tenant, but SW's father was not the tenant. Loads of newspaper evidence on British Newspaper Archive about the actual tenant, who was a relative of SW's mother. So it would be true to say that her extended family were tenant farmers, but not her parents.