All posts filed under: London

I Am a Dyslexic Writer…

Published by Magda Olchawska

I am a dyslexic learner and ever since I can remember I have struggled with spelling, learning (I had to read non-fictional books at least three times to be able to understand what means what), abstract concepts and ideas such as physics, chemistry (still makes me sick) and very low self-esteem. When I was in pre-school, my teacher made me read a story in front of the room full of other six years old. I was terrified, and, at first, I couldn’t even get one word out. After a few minutes of struggling she finally told me to sit down. On that day I was called lazy for the first time in my life, an adjective that stuck with me for the rest of my formal schooling years. My primary school physics teacher was the one who called me stupid first. He asked me a question and didn’t really like my honest answers so told me to leave the classroom (that was a punishment back then) and on my way out he did say to …

Gavin and The Story Behind Coolwich

Published by Magda Olchawska

I e-met Gavin on tweeter over the summer. I wrote a blog about Woolwich and Gavin decided to reach out to me. We had coffee, talked about life, art and South East London. Since we met over the summer we collaborated on this short video: and Gavin also agreed to talk to me about his work, his creativity and what is the real story behind Coolwich.  To reach out to Gavin try: Twitter Instagram Coolwich Website

Christopher Robin and Winnie the Pooh

Published by Magda Olchawska

Recently I went to the cinema to watch “Christopher Robin”. I know the film is not making as much money as expected; the current box office as of this writing stands “only” at $164,877,180. I know that for any reasonable person and any other industry that would be heaps of money but within the movie business this film is underperforming. Don’t even get me started on the stupidity of the current box office expectations and I won’t venture into that now. Anyway, as a person in her 30’s (yes still in my 30’s) I was brought up on Winnie the Pooh. I loved the stories, and when the Polish State Communist TV finally started airing The New Adventures of Winnie the Pooh, I couldn’t wait for the Sunday evening to come fast enough. The New Adventures of Winnie the Pooh, as well as the old Hollywood classics from the 30’s and 40’s, were my only window to the other side of the world I was so longing to be part of. To me, Pooh and …

What Being Successful Really Means

Published by Magda Olchawska

Being successful means different things to different people. Not the same rules of success and accomplishments apply to everyone. In various industries, people perceive and measure success in a variety of ways. For most of my working life I thought that being successful in the film business was to be able to work in Hollywood, to be able to get financing for films and to attend A-list film festivals. Probably this is the general rule of success in the film business, but the odds of everyone in this business making big this way are non-existing. Especially when expectations are so high from the moment you decide to be successful in this industry. The expectations that society puts on us but most of all the unrealistic expectations we put on ourselves is damaging in more than one way. I have always thought that unless I get to the top, I shouldn’t be happy and I shouldn’t celebrate my small wins and achievements. I thought that getting to where I wanted to be was the only way …

“Submersion” the Water Tank Escape.

Published by Magda Olchawska

Dave got in touch with me after I wrote a blog about Woolwich, where I currently live with my family (If you have not read it yet, this is the link.). We met locally one Saturday afternoon to chat about life, careers, Dave’s street performing and the fact that his water tank escape he does is a dying art and only a handful of people perform similar acts around the world. From that chat, we decided that since Dave together with his team are preparing an exciting new show that is on in September in Greenwich for everyone to come and enjoy for free as part of Totally Thames 2018, we should put something together to let the local community and Londoners know about Submersion. Dave Diamond works as an accountant in London Bridge. But at weekends he is an escapologist, performing on the streets of London, you can usually find him along the banks of the Thames or in Covent Garden. He also performs a show whereby he is locked in a tank of …