Page 593 - Belgrave Diaries(N)_Neat

he thinks it will send Todd off his head. Called in at Mespers and had a talk with Walker on the way back.
Still no definite reply from the Resident. The whole affair is becoming very complicated.

Monday 15th September 1930

Court. Dame and Guzdar came in the morning and we had a long talk about the Todd case, eventually Dame
signed a sort of provisional death certificate saying that she died of heart failure as if he had not done this we
should have to have told Todd that we had suspicions. Parke came in too. In the afternoon we went out to
see the well they are boring, they have got down 300 feet but the water is very brackish and not yet above
the surface. The Shaikh met me there and as he had seen two hares on the way we went hunting with him.
He had a couple of dogs and I had Siwa with me. We put up a hare near some of the tombs and it gave the
dogs a fine run and got away, at times they were almost on top of it but it dodged so well that they lost it.
Had a long talk with the Shaikh, he is very bored at having to come back into Manama tomorrow as some
Omani shaikh announced that he was arriving on a visit. The Shaikh showed a good deal of interest in the
affair of Mrs Todd which I told him about. Quite late before we got home. It was pleasant out hunting and a
change. I got more exercise than I have had for a long time running after the dogs. We are all getting very
tired of the Todd business. A telegram arrived in the evening saying that Parke was to carry out an
investigation.

Tuesday 16th [September]

Office, didnt go to the Biladya meeting. The Shaikh came in from Sakhrir. Tennis at the mission. Barden and
Parke to dine. The Shaikh gave us three rabbits yesterday and I kept them for dinner but in the morning the
whole house smelt of them as I put them in the refrigerator and forgot to turn them off so they went bad.
Played Bridge till very late. Parke always goes on and on.

Wednesday [17 September]

Down mail. Walker sent me a paper from Basra saying that the Resident is moving shortly to Bahrain, moving
the whole of the Residency permanently. It has been talked of for some time but only privately and has
never appeared before in print. I drafted a letter from the Shaikh asking about this. All the Arabic papers are
full of the new Persian note about Bahrain, they all seem of the opinion that the Persians have no claim but
at the same time they rub in the fact that the English have no claim either. Tiffany called in the afternoon.
Parke and I and Guzdar met and discussed the method of the Enquiry. Parke seemed very excited about it all
and though he constantly said what a difficult and disagreable job it is I think he enjoys doing it. In the
evening we drove up the Rafaa hill and went into the fort in the evening to talk to Parke. He had made out a
long list of questions to ask the people. He seems to mean to examine all the people in the place about it.

Wednesday [Thursday 18 September]