Page 101 - Belgrave Diaries(N)_Neat

99

1926

oily & over complimentary, constantly saying that his house, his services & his money were absolutely at my
disposal. He is always at the bottom of every intrigue but never shows his hand.

In the afternoon M went to tennis at the Agency & I went to look over the Palace with Ghaus to see about altering
the position of a staircase. It is really going to be a most handsome edifice, cut stone pillars & arches & a dome above
the doorway.

Saturday [25 September]

The Shaikh came down in the morning. Showed him the plan of the Palace & he is to visit it tomorrow as he says the
beams are too thin. Joint Court at which Barrett sat for the first time. The Shaikh agreed to buying the house & land
adjacent to the new offices & our house if we can get it at cost of Rs 10,000 from the State, which I hope will be done
by selling the house as building material. Men of the Levy Corps & Police are returning to Bahrain as no definite order
was made against their return. Of course it should have been done.

Pack, the Jewish pearl merchant, & the Dr came to dinner. The cook produced a very good dinner & afterwards we
played Bridge. An old gentleman called Faad al Basaam came to call before dinner with much talk & gossip but really
nothing important. Barrett doesnt seem at all interested in Bahrain politics & wants as much as possible to keep
out of them - Daly took too active a part, but Barrett seems to do exactly the opposite.

Sunday [26 September]

Spent all the morning at the Agency after an hour up at the Fort before breakfast. Read over a number of old files &
got a lot of interesting information out of them. It shows all through how Daly really supported the Shaikh & forced
him into action & that without support he is really a dummy, & a scared one at that.

Motored out to the Palace in the afternoon & the Shaikh met me there with all his sons and various servants &
relations, quite a crowd, four cars full of people. Ghaus, the Indian contractor, showed him over the place & he
seemed very satisfied, then he & Shaikh Abdulla & a big crowd came to call on us in state in our house. The Shaikh &
all of them seemed much to admire it. The Shaikh seemed to like the dining room best as he said it was "just like a
hotel", thinking I suppose of some private sitting room in hotels he visited at home. Went out for a short drive after
the visitors had departed. We gave them coffee & tea & biscuits which they seemed to like very much. Such a crowd
in the drawing room!

Monday 27th September