Page 474 - Belgrave Diaries(N)_Neat

471

1929

should be cut down. Decided that we would cut most of the Khalids entirely, as they have property, and also the pay of
one or two others, and half the "summer moves" allowances which are paid to Hamed and Abdulla and Mohamed. We
drafted out a rough idea of a reply to the Agency letter. Court. Tennis at the Mission in the afternoon.

Tuesday [27 August]

Entirely forgot that there was a Biladya meeting but remembered in time and sent round a message to tell them to carry
on without waiting. Was at the Fort in the morning. Dull meeting, no items of any interest. Mohamed is very
irritating as President. Went round the bazaar afterwards with The Shaikh's new tenant who wanted some repairs done,
as usual. Hot in the open part of the bazaar. The fish market is finished and occupied, it is an iron building from
England with the sides open, seems a great success and cheaper than the local style of building. Had a look round the
gardens in the afternoon and went to see a place where Kozaibi has been stealing some ground, no doubt about it, he
has shut in a public right of way. Because he is the Agent of Ibn Saoud he thinks he is a law unto himself.

Wednesday [28 August]

Went to the Biladya garden in the morning. The trees there have grown up wonderfully well, it is quite a forest in parts
and will soon want thinning out. Abdulla Kozaibi came to see me about the ground and I showed him how much he
had stolen from the Govt. He professed to be willing to shift his walls and everything he has closed up. Abdulla,
Mohamed and Sulman came in, the two former about the Civil List business, they brought a draft of a letter from the
Shaikh. We then had an inquisition on Ali bin Khalid the younger brother of Ibrahaim, who was in prison for six
months. He has been behaving badly and selling all his property, the result will be that he will come and beg from the
Shaikh. They gave him a very good dressing down and settled to cancel the sale of one of his gardens which he made
to one of The Shaikh's sons. He looked quite scared of them. Then discussed the matter of Kozaibi and the ground.
All agreed that he was entirely in the wrong. Tennis at Mespers. D.G. seems very subdued these days, I fear he is
injured because I dont accept his invitations to "knaw a bone" at his house, if I am asked in such a way the very style of
the invitation puts me off. His cooking is so messy too, and the whole house is stuffy and so very much less pleasant
than my own. He asked me in but I refused.

Thursday 29th August

Court, went round the back of the town in the morning early to try and get a photo of a certain bit of the bazaar but I
dont think it was a success. Court, some rather bright Police cases mostly about persons of peculiar morals. They are a
relaxation after dull claims of money and Sulman and I really enjoy them. One man was said to call himself a Kadi of
persons of bad character, we gave him three months for keeping an establishment which had caused a case a few days
before between two men about a married women. When one starts going into these matters one finds that the Bahranis
are almost worse than the Arabs, all these were Bahranis. Went out in the afternoon to see a garden which one of the
Shaikhs claims and also a huge tract of open ground which would be a fine place to sink a few wells for cultivation.
Looked at the ground closed in by Kozaibi on the way back. Found a large crowd of very excited Bahranis who
complained that he had dug up a lot of their relations bones in a corner of the ground that is a cemetry. I encouraged
them to get excited and told them that the boundaries were as shown by our surveyor. Had a dinner party, the Strakers,
Pack, D.G. and Habib. Went off very well. Ate my two ducks as for ages they have laid no eggs and they are simply