Page 512 - Belgrave Diaries(N)_Neat

Sunday 5th Jan 1930

Court. We have decided to hold four courts a week till the beginning of Ramadan and then slack off during
Ramadan as fortunately while people are fasting they do not seem to make so many cases. One case was
made by a man against his wife because she smoked cigarettes eventually as she refused to give up smoking
he divorced her. He was a most miserable creature, half blind and under sized. Shaikh Sulman and I, who
were smoking ourselves, quite sympathised with her, but she was well out of it by being set free. We put
into prison twelve people for gambling, that also I sympathised with, they only played cards for money, but it
is forbidden here. Shaikh Abdulla called and took the tutor over to Muharrak. I hope he will be able to do
something. I have had a telephone put in between me and the Customs, a very good plan and will be most
useful in the summer when de Grenier is away. I dont think he likes it as I get to know how late he gets up.
Motored round the gardens, they are doing very badly. Jordan came in and later on de Grenier with a plan of
his proposed tour he intends going home by Turkey and then across Europe to all the capitals. He has
affected a great desire to hear operas, one never supposed him to be so musical before. Shaikh Abdulla is
being married again, he marries about twice a year, its a sort of disease with him, When he was out at the
Shaikh's yesterday he mentioned it, the Shaikh said, as a joke, that he hoped it would be the last time, he
borrowed Rs 2000 on the strength of it.

Monday [6 January]
Court. Went up to the Fort before breakfast. I go down at 7.30 now a days and usually go up to the Fort
before breakfast. Lots more locusts came but they seemed very tired and many of them fell into the sea so
that there was a line of them, quite a big heap, all along the shore. I had some for lunch. They tasted quite
nice, rather a salty taste but crisp to eat. The people all eat them and all the children run about catching
them and at night they go out with lanterns and pick them up. They are just like large grasshoppers. One
takes off the legs and the wings and eats them fried. Tennis at the Mission, poor tennis but not so nasty a
tea as usual. Very few people there, only de Grenier and ourselves apart from the Mission.

Tuesday [7 January]

The new Municipal Council in Muharrak has not yet been elected so I had a free day, but very busy as hordes
of people came in to see me, old Abdel Latif, the shaikh of the Dawasir, a very tiresome garralous old man
with a tremendous sense of his own importance, and various other people. They have plague in Basra so the
boats from there are in quarantine, such a bore as we have just sold our camp and not yet got a new one. M
went out with James in Prior's car in the morning. Motored to Rafaa after lunch to see about having the road
there mended. Met one of the lesser shaikhs who is to be in charge of the job. The Dr came in. Dinner at
the Hakkens. She, though a missionary is quite lively but very common. She is shortly expecting a baby, her
second, the other one was born here three years ago and looks very fit. The Strakers and Barden were there.
Quite a good dinner and really not so bad a party. They talked mostly about Arab gossip, it interests me but
not the others who looked very bored. Listened to the gramaphone after dinner. They have a good one and
a lot of new records.