Page 406 - Belgrave Diaries(N)_Neat

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1929

Got a very impudent letter from Shaikh Khalifa bin Sulman about an application for payment of Customs on a car that
he imported. Went over to Muharrak for the Municipal Council meeting. Quite a good one. Shaikh Abdulla is really
very good as President. The room in which we have our meetings fell down a little while ago in the middle of the
night. I got a most quaint letter from the Secretary about it saying that as the Council had destroyed many dangerous
houses to protect the public from falling buildings so Allah had arranged that the Council room should fall down in the
middle of the night not during a meeting. I sailed across and back, quite a good wind. Barrett didnt attend. Motored
out along the Budeya road after lunch and then I went out to the Shaikh's for dinner. The new Kadi Shaikh Abdulla
was there but as I arrived he departed, with Abdu Ali. Shaikh Isa had written to the Shaikh about Khalifa bin Sulman
saying that he ought to have more pay so of course the Shaikh was alarmed and wrote a long polite letter to his father
Shaikh Isa. Stayed to dinner, not a good one, only meat and dates and bread. The Shaikh has such a messy habit of
allowing all his dogs to feed from the table. He has about 20 big silugi hounds and all the time one is sitting round the
food the dogs are pushing their heads through to the food. The Shaikh encourages them and throws them great lumps
of meat. It is a very smelly messy arrangement, the dogs are never brushed and are full of fleas and very dirty. Most
Arabs would be quite horrified at the idea as they consider dogs unclean, especially the Shias. I drove my car all the
way out and back again. It was quite dark coming back so the Shaikh gave me an escort of some of his fidawis in a car
as far as the town. Sulman was there and also Mubarak and one or two others. Very stormy in the evening and quite a
gale blowing when I drove back.

Wednesday 23rd [January]

The boat came in but the American was not on board. Thomas, of Muscat, came ashore for an hour but I didnt see him.
Very stormy day and a little rain. Went to Mespers but not to tennis as it was so rough a day. D.G. very sulky.
Deported another Baluchi, we are weeding them out, in connection with the shooting at the Shaikh case. The assistant
Amir died, quite a decent old fellow known always as the `poor relation' an offspring of the Royal Family for whom we
made a job. Cold day, hope its ... ... cold for a bit now.

Thursday 24th Jan.

Went along to the Meglis Urfi in the morning to talk to the members about being late and not attending. One of the
Shaikhs, Hamud bin Subah, is the President and seems to find it quite impossible to keep them in order. He is very
pompous and very stupid and is paid a most absurdly large salary for sitting on the Court. The members are twenty of
the leading merchants and all know far more about everything than he does. Came back and had an ordinary court with
Shaikh Sulman. Got very tired of it so stopped at two oclock which was quite long enough to go on. Sulman bothered
about his pay again. Very cold day and a violent shamaal. The cold weather has really started but I am sorry for the
garden's sake. Lots of my little seedlings have been snapped off at the roots and the trees are being shaken to bits.
Drove out to Essex point with the dogs and then people came to tea and Bridge. One of the missionaries from Basra
was shot while motoring from Basra to Kuwait with the American millionaire Mr Craine. For this reason he, the
millionaire, didnt come on the last boat. The Akhwan, Ibn Saoud's followers, are apparently on the war path again. It
doesnt affect us here in Bahrain. In a way there are advantages in being on an island. This is the second day of this
gale. Shaikh Abdulla al Khalifa came in the morning and talked for a long time, he had some cases of his own, tenants
who had not paid rent as usual.