Page 561 - Belgrave Diaries(N)_Neat

Monday 2nd June 1930

Court. I heard a rumour that Mohamed Sherif, the leading Persian merchant and a very pleasant amusing
man, was going broke. He went on a visit to Persia some weeks ago. Later on I heard that it was sure and
the Agency had his office and shop and house sealed up. I am very sorry about it, a thing like this will react
here and shake the public credit a great deal. He was a man I liked very much personally and quite one of the
most amusing of the local people. It now looks as it he knew what was going to happen and had run away as
he took his family and his belongings. The case was laid by one of the Hindus. It is causing a great deal of
excitement. He was a Khan Bahadur and also the Shipping Agent for the Hausa Line. In the evening M went
to call on some Arab ladies and I went out to a dinner party at the Shaikh's, all the Englishmen were there, it
was given for Major Holmes as a sort of thanks for the car which he gave the Shaikh. We dined outside and it
was very pleasant and not as bad a dinner as he usually puts up. Holmes created rather a sensation by
suddenly going for Parke about the oil business, saying that he knew that Parke was against it, he was
evidently very angry. Unfortunately Mohamed Yatim was there Holmes's interpreter, and he understood it
and probably passed it on in the bazaar. Parke took it well and didnt argue. On the way back Prior and I had
a bathe in Idari, there was a moon and it was very nice though just a shade too cool to stay in very long. Hot
day but fairly cool out at Sakhrir.

Tuesday, The King's Birthday [3 June]

Got some time to do some work in the office as there was no meeting of the Biladya. Went over to the
Agency at about twelve and as usual drank some champagne. All the people were there, stayed about an
hour and a half and then home for lunch. Very hot damp day, the stout people here suffer most from the
heat. Walker, the shipping agent actually went out onto the veranda and wrung out his very long
handkerchief which he had been mopping his face with, and is splashed on the cement floor. Shaikh Isa and
all the shaikhs called at the Agency as usual in the morning. Rather a comic thing happened to old Isa, he was
handed a tray with biscuits and sweets on it, he is very blind in one eye and he took a sweet fastened up in
thick lead paper. Prior's interpreter murmured to him that he should take off the paper but the old man
seemed to think it was impudence and put it in his mouth as it was, he then chewed and chewed and got into
great complications with his few remaining teeth till at last he managed to get it out again, some of the
younger shaikhs were unable to prevent themselves from laughing. Prior's description with facial
movements was really awfully funny. The aeroplane came back in the afternoon but without the Resident
who got onto a sloop. Motored in the afternoon and a dinner party at the Agency in the evening, a very good
dinner but somehow rather a dull show. We played paper games and also everyone had to come wearing a
token showing name of a town or Geographical feature. I went as Greece, a blob of grease on a little bit of
cardboard.

Wednesday May 4th 1930

Went down to the Joint Court to see the Shaikh and then to the Customs where I stayed some time. Walker
came in about some business and also Jordan and Parke. Very hot day. Motored in the afternoon to Ain al