Page 508 - Belgrave Diaries(N)_Neat

506

1929

Meeting of the Wakf Department in the morning, good meeting. We arranged to spend a certain amount of money on
repairing some of the wakf gardens, this has not been done for years and years. Had a look round the school before the
meeting and gave the boys mental problems, arithmetic, but unfortunately I did not work out all the answers first so
some were rather a failure. The boys are very bright and quite clean looking. Motored in the afternoon. Prior came in
after tea, he often does.

Sunday [22 December]

Office. Drove out to Farsia in the evening, quite a long way and a place we had never been to before along the
southern coast of the island. Prior came in to tea when we got back. Cold day.

Monday 23rd December

Court. A great many people seemed to have colds, among them Shaikh Sulman. Did forty cases, many of them were
just delivering judgements on cases that had been to the religious courts. The Agency is shutting for eleven days for
Christmas from tomorrow. They do themselves well in holidays. Tennis and tea party at the Mission, rather awful,
they had tea at little tables like a tea shop, Prior and I and Mrs Jordan sat at one table, he made great play with her. The
Mission children are so very dirty looking and unattractive, the Pennings children wear no shoes and stockings and are
always filthy dirty, the older one is rather queer in the head, they play about the town with Arab children and look more
like Arabs than Americans.

Tuesday [24 December]

Office in the morning, Fort, no Biladya at Muharrak as Shaikh Abdulla is on the mainland again hunting. It is
supposed that he will as usual bring back a new wife from there. He does so most times. The Shaikh came in after
lunch, he had a heavy cold and was very cross and sulky, he talked about the amount of his expenses and the smallness
of his allowance and was altogether very tiresome. M went down the bazaar. He went over to the Agency, where we
had been going to play tennis and so delayed us till it was very late. So annoying, however we got a few games in with
Barden and Holmes and Prior and myself, good hard tennis.

Wednesday, Christmas Day

The usual trays of fruit and sweets etc arrived all the morning, the quality of these things is improving, we got some
really very good things in the way of preserved fruits from Damascus and sweets, also a lot of toys for James. All the
English people sent presents for James, really he has had so many things that he will be stocked with toys for the whole
year. The ayah put all his presents above his bed and decorated it like a Christmas tree, she is a like a child and simply
loves toys and occasions of this sort. She is a Roman Catholic so takes Christmas seriously. Went to church at the
Mission, a dull dreary service with a very long sermon by Pennings; afterwards Prior and Barden and D.G. came round
and drank a little sherry with us. Quantities of trays of fruit and sweets arrived. Tea and tennis at Mespers in the
afternoon. Dinner party at the Agency, ten people as Dr Holmes and Mrs H did not attend. She is so deaf that she does