Post # 93
October 1, 2025
Claire Bodanis
Claire reports from Dumfries, Scotland, where she is taking time out until November to recuperate, gently and screen-free, in the company of her mother; with help from gardening, music and ancient landscapes.
Dear friends,
Forgive the familiarity, but from time to time I write on subjects of a personal nature, so ‘friends’ seems right in this context. And with so many of you such loyal readers, that certainly makes you friends in my eyes!
I’ve always felt that blogs should be both interesting and useful to their readers. I do sometimes stretch the concept, venturing beyond subjects related to communications and reporting to others of a more philosophical nature, but I do try not to stray too far from that brief. Today’s blog does not quite, perhaps, tick the ‘useful’ box, but I hope it does qualify as ‘interesting’!
So why a letter from Scotland? As many of you know, earlier this year I got what I thought was an unremarkable knock on the head on a train (on the way to Scotland, incidentally!). Unfortunately, while the scans said there's nothing wrong with my brain, concussion can do weird things and last a long time, and I've not been quite myself since. Doubtless I have, as Mum says, been ‘doing too much’.
And so I'm taking an extended break from work and have gone to stay with Mum, so she can see for herself that I’m paying attention to maternal wisdom! Undistracted by either laptop or phone, I shall be able to concentrate instead on the far more important tasks of pottering in the garden and playing piano duets – before emerging, phoenix-like I hope, for Falcon Windsor's annual party on Thursday, 6th November. (Twenty-one years this year! If you haven't received an invitation and would like to come, please ask Alex – alex@falconwindsor.com – and she'll send you one.)
I feel very fortunate to be able to take this extended break, knowing that the FW team can manage so brilliantly in my absence. Luckily, we spent our team retreat in early September planning how FW could be more sustainable with ‘less Claire’, to give me more time to work on things like reporting reform (more to come on that in December); and my commission from the UK’s Chartered Governance Institute to write a new version of Trust Me, I'm Listed, which will become a guide for how to report well in the age of AI, due to be published in June next year. While being off work, email and phone will give my brain a rest, it won't altogether stop me thinking, and I'm quite looking forward to using the beautiful landscape of the lowlands of Scotland as writerly inspiration!
On the personal front, I'm also very fortunate to have David here to keep an eye on Julius as he approaches university entrance exams at the end of the month. And the support from colleagues, clients, neighbours and friends who’ve already heard about this plan has been overwhelming, and I’m extremely grateful to you all.
On a practical note, FW will continue to be run superbly by Neil, our lovely MD, ably supported by the also lovely Justine, without whom no FW plan could be so splendidly hatched. While I'm off please feel free to contact either of them – neil@falconwindsor.com; justine@falconwindsor.com.
So what of my title, ‘Life is for living’? Well, at my 50th birthday party last year, my dear friend Anna Rowlands (of Lunch with the Pope fame) gave a wonderful speech called ‘The Claireness of Claire’, her theme being the things that make me, me.
One thing that particularly got guests nodding their heads was ‘people’, especially the mention of my parents, who’ve always been cheerleaders both for me and for the whole FW project. As readers will know from my blog, On truth-telling, party-throwing and fruity letters, Dad died almost three years ago. However, I feel hugely blessed to have this opportunity, which I doubt I’d have taken otherwise, to spend so much time at home with Mum.
Another thing that struck a chord with everybody was ‘life is for living’. Anna said (amongst some amusing anecdotes): “St. Anselm defines the glory of God as the human being fully alive. A few centuries ahead of the fact, nonetheless I think he had Claire firmly in his sights – she is someone who has always been determined to live every possible ounce of life given to her.”
As you can imagine, dropping out of my normal existence for a while is not something I anticipate with relish. But sometimes slowing down or even stopping is essential for rejuvenating body and soul, to become a ‘human being fully alive’ again, and I look forward to doing that in Mum’s company.
With thanks to you all, for your ongoing cheerfulness and support.
Claire x
Thanks too to my amanuensis, David, and to Tamara, Alex, Mark and all the FW team who make this blog happen.