Edward Powell - 11-25-2009 at 03:22 AM
...a little off the topic but today is a really happy day for me - I finally got my EU RESIDENCY!
this of course means that my journeys to "oudland" will not anymore be forced upon me --- hopefully it will not mean that I go there less. . . .
but it is reall great to now know that I can no longer be FORCED to leave the EU!
littleseb - 11-25-2009 at 03:44 AM
OH HAPPY DAY!!!!
Congrats Ed, enjoy your new life!
For me it's a happy day too, as of today I'm officially debt free, YAY! 
Finaly I can start saving up for a new oud!!
Ararat66 - 11-25-2009 at 03:50 AM
Hi Ed
Good for you my friend - does this mean we finally need a European oud meeting to celebrate? We've floated the idea of one already but could we make
this a reality ????
Leon
Edward Powell - 11-25-2009 at 08:38 AM
Congrats SEB! That truly IS something to celebrate! Keep it up!
Yes. I agree that something really must be done to boost the awareness of oud and makam in the EU. The only real misgiving I have about settling here
is that there are so few musicians around that know about makam. Especially in the small towns...
Funny because 2 years ago I really was not ready for an EU residence... since 1994 one of my life's dreams was to spend some time in Cairo (and
Istanbul), and somehow my life took the shape so that that was possible - - - - however, even while I was there, I know very well that I am now
over-do to settle down and finally DO something with my own music.
So now I feel that I have traveled and studied plenty... and if I would continue with that I would end up as a musicologist rather than a
musician!
A European oud meeting would be a great idea! I have never been to an oud meeting before - - - how do they work - what do they look like? Perhaps a
oud meeting/festival???
We have a huge house here with tons of extra space.... with no heat - but summer is wonderful... and nearby we constructed an ENORMOUS outdoor
labyrinth (and natural mineral water springs) which might serve as a meeting place (even with a small stage for concerts).
We live in the far east part of Czech (near Ostrava/Opava) which is 3 hours from Vienna and 4 hours from Prague.