Page 563 - Belgrave Diaries(N)_Neat

Shaikh didnt come in, he has been having fever lately and

Wednesday 11th

is rather off colour. Abdulla acted for him on the court so I didnt go down there. Busy in office, a good many
people came in. Went up to the Palace after tea to see how they were getting on with the electric light.
They seemed to be doing it very slowly. Jordan came in. I was amused to notice that all his workmen
referred to him, to me, as just "Jordan", no Mr or title. They are Indians. I suppose it is all according the
modern style in India. Went out to Essex Point afterwards, very pretty out there, one looks across to the
islands at the back of Bahrain, low green islands covered with date palm trees that grow up from right on the
water edge. There is one tiny island with a bunch of palm trees on it that I should love to own. Dr Holmes
came along while we were there and both of them came in afterwards. Major Holmes told how lately he had
gone out for a drive after dinner to Mohamed Yatim's garden and found Shaikh Abdulla entertaining a party
of dancing girls in the garden house there, so awkward! He retired hurriedly. Had dinner with Prior and
listened to his lovely gramaphone, it is a new and very good one and he has lots of new records, all of them
very proper music not modern jazz, he played some lovely things.

Thursday 12th [June]

The Shaikh came in to the Agency and signed the document of the transfer of the oil concession. I was in the
Customs so missed him. He always seems to imagine that one has no work to do and will always be found
sitting in the office twiddling ones thumbs. He came to the office but I was out. Weighed a lot of bags of
rice, people are taking to putting on very thick inner bags so as to make up the weight which means that the
actual rice is short, a trick of the Hindu merchants. Motored along the Rafaa road. Prior came in before
dinner for some time. Dined at Mespers, quite a party, everyone was there. Played Roulette which bored
me. There was an uneven number for Bridge. One of the Darin flying men is over, they are having more
trouble there, the men are mutinous and one of the officers is siding with the men. Altogether a bad show,
the one here is on the side of law and order, quite a nice fellow called North. The dinner party was quite
pleasant but too long a meal, too many courses.

Friday [13 June]

Breakfast with Major Holmes. Bank. Nice cool day with a strong wind blowing. M is now doing arabic
lessons every afternoon with a woman from the Mission, a Mosuli woman. Agency tennis, there were 17
people there, quite a crowd for Bahrain.

Saturday [14 June]

Jordan came round in the morning, there seems to be much annoyance over our collection the electric dues
by sending a man from house to house. He always seems to put peoples' backs up. Read a book called "High
Wind in Jamaica" which I liked very much. Court M went to a show at the girls' school in the afternoon and I