Page 360 - Belgrave Diaries(N)_Neat

358

1928

Had a meeting of the people proposed to form a new Meglis Urfi, a sort of Court for deciding Commercial Cases. The
Shaikh spoke to them & we fixed it up under new system with new name, Bahrain Chamber of Commerce! Really its
not a chamber of commerce. Shaikh was very late & kept me from having my breakfast till 10.40. Office work & then
went across to see Barrett about a case. Had a talk with my court clerk who gave notice. He's a tempery young man,
rather handsome with a little pointed black beard. He was very angry at being complained about by the Kadi.

Tennis & Bridge at Mespers. Car stuck in the mud on the Mespers road but got it out. The sea comes
over the road when tide is high & makes it muddy.

Barrett makes such very unwise remarks, at the Meglis this morning he remarked loudly to the Shaikh that
he hoped Mohamed Sherif & Mohamed Khunji would not be on the Court on the same day, they being well known to
be old and bitter enemies, silly to call attention to such a thing. They have houses opposite to eachother in a narrow
street in the bazaar & each one builds on extra stories trying to get above the level of his neighbour's house. They will
end by having skyscrapers. Khunji is now one storey higher than Mohamed Sherif.

Thursday 12th [January]

Court. Cold day. Wrote letters afterwards went over to Agency but found Barrett busy. Went out to Idari in the
afternoon, they are getting on well. Only the Barretts & the Parkes came to tea. Cold, had a fire. Not good Bridge.
Parke is a most irritating person to play with & slams the cards down on the table in a very tiresome way.

Friday [13 January]
Went down the bazaar in the morning. Bought another copper try, a larger one for Rs 3/- Persian, a good pattern on it.
Then motored out to Suk al Khamis to see the road work & back by the Buledya road.

Went to the garden in afternoon & then to the finals of the tennis tournament at the Agency. The two
mission men won beating an Indian & a Goanese, but a very close game. All the clerks & people attended as well as
the English people, the Shaikh & Abdulla. Quite a lively entertainment. Afterwards we played Bridge. Mrs Barrett
gave the prizes & the Shaikh made a sort of speech saying how "clever" the players were in hitting the ball so often.

In the morning we met Sh. Abdulla's belongings moving out to Sakhrir, about 50 donkey loads of stuff,
bales of carpets, huge cooking pots & a lot of rather miscelaneous boxes & bundles.

Saturday 14th [January]

Ghaus came to call & talked about the cinema. He is starting one in Bushire as well. Saw the Shaikh for a moment, he
agreed to reduce cost of the ground for the cinema. Court. Tennis at Agency in the afternoon. Only us & the Barretts.
Quite good tennis. B discussed, & much disapproved of, Mrs Parke's habit of sitting in the Police Station when P is
trying cases. Although she cant understand it is unsuitable that she should sit there during many of the cases.

Got 6 new English gramophone records from the market, 4 good ones. Strange thing to be able to get
them here.