Page 400 - Belgrave Diaries(N)_Neat

398

1929

Agency Court. Today the Inspector General of Persian Customs was on the mail boat and announced that he was going
to come ashore to inspect the Customs at Manama and Muharrak. He got as far as the end of the pier in a launch and
was then turned back and stopped from landing. He was furious and went off threatening protests from his
Government etc etc. A very good thing indeed. There were some American tourists on the boat, women, they came
ashore and de G had them to call in his house, very scantily dressed and very peculiar manners apparently.

The Strakers came to dinner, we had duck which was sent us by Shaikh Sulman.

Monday 6th [January]

Shaikh Mohamed bin Ali came to Court instead of Sulman. Quite a short court. Various people came to call later
mostly Persians trying to get permission for their friends to land here. Tennis at the Mission and afterwards we went in
to the Agency with de G.

Tuesday 7th Jan.

Didnt go to the meeting of the Biladya at Muharrak as I had a lot of office work to do. Called on Shaikh Abdulla the
candidate for Kadiship. He was very pleasant but absolutely declined to be Kadi unless he was the only Kadi in
Bahrain. He is a very conceited little man and hates the idea of having an older and probably more learned man sitting
with him. He talked for about an hour and a half. They are doing some blasting outside his house and a big rock was
hurled into his compound. He showed it to me and said, more or less, that only because he was Shaikh Abdulla had
Allah saved him from being killed. He was beautifully dressed in a thick black silk robe and a large white turban and
yellow shoes. His house is rather a poor place but quite clean. He is a sallow little man with a thin black beard. These
religious people always are very sallow as they never take any exercise. Went in to see Barrett when I got back. We
agreed that we were simply sick of Kadis. Went out in the car with Mohamed Khalil and the Municipal Secretary to
see about some town planning and to see the work on the roads.

Wednesday 9th Jan. 1928 [1929]

Went down to see the Shaikh at the Joint Court in the morning about the question of the Kadis. He was very silly over
it although Barrett and I and his brother Shaikh Abdulla all urged him to appoint the two men and let Shaikh Abdulla
be made to come to heel, however he said it would be better to consult Abdu Ali. Talked to him about a case in which
a man was very injustly treated but he wouldnt do anything about it. Felt thoroughly annoyed. Went into the Customs
for a moment as de Grenier asked me to have some coffee. He was having breakfast at eleven oclock and talked
incessantly about what a lot of work he was doing. He never hesitates to blow his own trumpet. He can be very
tiresome. The doctor came in before lunch. We have had a larger chicken run made so I hope they will lay more.
Tennis at Mespers in the afternoon. Did some work in the garden first. The Strakers are really very pleasant though
quite low class. Some of their friends are friends of the housemaid at Lewes Crescent and they are that class. The
worst of their tennis days is that the tea is so awfully bad. The Shaikh says that there is going to be a very bad storm
about Monday or Tuesday, the date that the new Resident is due to arrive here. He is so sure of it that he has made
arrangements to do something else on that day as he says that the storm will be so bad that the Resident wont come.
He knows this from some combination of the stars. I wonder if it will be right.