Page 367 - Belgrave Diaries(N)_Neat

365

1928

the cinema, he stayed 1½ hours & ended by telling stories of the year there was such a slump in pearls - interesting. An
article in the Times about the Persian protest. Car out of order. Called on de G after lunch & then to the garden.

Monday [6 February]
Court. Tennis at Mission.

Tuesday 7th [February]

We & the Barretts, accompanied by Tiffah, the Jewish sewing woman who teaches in Arabic - & gossip - went over to
Muharrak. Went in the Agency launch, very low tide & stuck several times. Shaikh Rashid's car met us & M & Mrs B
went off to call on Ayesha. Barrett spent an hour over a case about a godown between Ali bin Seggar & one Siadi,
both big merchants & shouters of the worst type, when excited their voices become suddenly shrill. de G & I took a
walk in the bazaar & had a long talk with Secretary of Biladya, then motored up to call for the others at Rashid's
house. Great improvements being made by the Municipality, streets widened & all the town much cleaner, of course it
does take away from the picturesque appearance. Rashid insisted on all of us going in, even de G & Barretts orderly a
proceeding which I considered very unsuitable, Ayesha & the old lady didnt seem to mind. Drank coffee & ate some
cakes & sweets & M took some photos of Ayesha, but she wouldnt stand in the shade as she said it made her look
black - of course it does the opposite! Ayesha & the mother had not been on speaking terms for some days. Tiffah
called to announce our visit & had found them sitting at opposite ends of a room each holding her cloak between her
face & the other, carrying on a sort of 3 cornered conversation with Rashid. The row was because Ayesha refused to
call on Mrs Parke the day they came to Manama & went off to Idari & the old lady didnt want this.

Drove down to Zayanis house. A small boy always hangs onto the car outside & this in Muharrak is
alarming as the lanes are only just wide enough for a car & the boy often touches the buildings at the side of the roads.
Quite a nice house, a courtyard with a big Meglis at one end with windows open onto the shore looking over to
Manama & a dining room at other end. The host, Mohamed bin Ibrahaim Zayani is a nice little man, plain with
jingling ill fitting false teeth, large round spectacles and a habit of constantly shaking ones hands. The party consisted
of about a dozen merchants. Lunch at a table, very good, usual mutton, chickens, little meat pasties, fruit eggs etc. de
Grenier is always much joked about as he & one of the Arabs are rivals in amount that they eat. After lunch M & Mrs
B went to call on the ladies who were surprising up to date, even able to talk a little English. They go to Bombay every
year. Afterwards climed a roof & looked at the course of the sea road, then sat a long time outside the Meglis talking
drinking coffee & smoking, really very pleasant. Motored back to Customs & then walked all over the bazaar. Mrs B
is very trying, she wanders off & gets lost in crowds & being perfectly silly she attracts much attention. She kept on
walking into coffee shops to look at brass coffee pots - & coffee shops are not places that one does walk into.

Had a dinner party for the Spences in the evening, nine of us. Quite a success, played vingt et un as there
were an uneven number. We intended dancing but Mrs S said she was too tired. They are going in about a week.

Wednesday 8th [February]