Page 536 - Belgrave Diaries(N)_Neat

In bed with influenza.

Thursday [20 March]

In bed.

Friday [21 March]

Got up but did not go out. Read most of the day.

Saturday [22 March]

Didnt go down to the office or see anyone but did work in the house. Prior came in for a few minutes. Drove
out in the car a little while in the evening. Feeling very limp. Jelal al Din, the Passport clerk, gave a dinner
party in honour of de Grenier. Fortunately I had an excellent excuse for not attending.

Sunday 23rd [March]

Zayani, Ali bin Seggar and Jabr bin Msallem called in the morning to ask us to do something about the Galali
well and also about giving the people a month longer to pay their pearling licenses this year. Very busy day
and a lot of arrears to get done. Went round to the Biladya to count the votes in the municipal election.
Shaikh Mohamed behaved like a very silly small child, picking up the papers and playing with them and
causing much delay and confusion. He has not the slightest idea of how anything should be done. He
annoyed me very much by producing a letter which he has got out of the Shaikh saying that I am to find him a
piece of ground in place of the one in his case with Mohamed Yatim, which he has no right to and which he
made such a fuss about. He then had the nerve to demand one of the two most valuable sites in Manama.
One of them is the private property of Shaikh Hamed. He really is one of the people I dislike more than
anyone else here. Played Bridge at the Agency after tea. The boat came in. Went to the Biladya garden in
the afternoon. There had been a fire among some saf houses just outside the garden. I saw it last night from
the roof, a red glow and a great noise of shouting. These palm reed houses burn very rapidly and if there is a
wind they spread without one being able to prevent it. The only thing is to remove all the houses near to the
fire, this they did and when we arrived we found one of the owners looking for his house which had been
entirely taken down and all the contents removed. Still feel rather limp, I had quite a lot of fever and it takes
it out of one.

Monday [24 March]

Court. Mail arrived in the morning but not much in it. Motored out in the afternoon. Dined with Abdel
Rahman Zayani. A pleasant party, only a few people besides the English people. We had the usual Arab food
but served on a table with chairs. D.G. is taking all these dinners as being given in his honour though as a
matter of fact this and the last one were nothing to do with him.