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1927

new Kadi (Shia) Sayed Ednan to say that I had come & the Kadi came round from his Meglis nearby to call. He arrived with
a retinue of followers, Baharnis. He is a little man, quite young with really an extremely nice expression, he looks like a
religious man, though very young, not much over thirty I should think. He has a little black beard which he fingers & wore
a huge black Shia turban & a long black aba and white underneath. He was very nervous & evidently doubtful as to how
to behave. To my surprise he smoked cigarettes, he took one out but did not offer one to me till one of his followers
nudged me & then he hurriedly gave me one, again, when I left I said goodbye to him as I always do & he stood in the
room, I & the owner of the house walked out, one of the men whispered to the Kadi, evidently, that he should accompany
me so he hurried after me to the door. Altogether I liked him, he was unaffected & simple & looked a decent fellow. We
talked about the history of Bahrain and about agriculture. Got home by lunch time.

Motored out to Suk al Khamis & back by the Budeya road in the afternoon.

M called on two of the Shaikh's wives in Muharraq in the morning. She went over in his launch & met by a car. Both, & their
respective mothers, enquired anxiously whether she knew which of the three was to live in the Palace. Also they all
upbraided her for going home & leaving me here - according to Arab custom it would be the husband who would go away
not the wife, all the ladies think it very queer!