Page 701 - Belgrave Diaries(N)_Neat

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1932

little items said that he had no wish to claim them and never had, they are very irritating when they waste ones time
like this. Went into the Customs and later, after tea, went back there and played Bridge. D.G. played the piano while
we played which I liked very much. Mrs D.G. has been vaccinated and is making a great fuss about having a bad arm.

Monday [7 March]

Parke took the court as I was very busy. Went over to the Agency about a claim made by the Contractor who built the
offices and Palace. We went up to the Palace to see something then I sent into the Agency for a little time to talk about
various cases. The Shaikh borrowed Rs 10,000 from the Deposit account, we have had a very bad month and are down
about 20,000 on the month. Motored in the afternoon and met the Skinners going back to the Oil Camp. M went to
morning Bridge at the Customs. A little rain in the night but very slight. Parke and the Superintendent called after tea,
he was very oily, Prior came in after dinner. He is going down to India for a month or six weeks, ostensibly for eye
treatment. Warm day, the garden is beginning to be very full of flowers.

Tuesday 8th March 1932
Attended meeting of the Muharrak Municipal Council. Went over with Prior in his launch and sailed back in a
joliboat, a lovely day and very pleasant on the sea. I had Shaikh Abdulla's young clerk with me on the way back, he
told me about meeting a Persian lately on one of the boats who discussed the Persian question and said they would very
soon have enough men of war to take Bahrain. Saw several people in the morning when I came back. In the afternoon
we motored out with the President of the Shia Wakf committee to some distant villages to inspect mosques that needed
repairing, a long drive and very bad roads owing to ruts made by the recent rain having dried hard. At one village they
were very friendly and I had to take coffee and quite a meal, which I much disliked as it all looked very dirty but very
picturesque, we sat in the Matem which was all spread with carpets and had some most attractive archways and
altogether a most picturesque place, through one door there was a room where they prepared the coffee and a fire and a
group of Arabs sitting round it. Got home very late.

Wednesday [9 March]

Went down to see the Shaikh at the Joint Court, had rather an argument about a case which he is interfering with, he
will attend to people who have had judgments made against them and who go out to him to complain, often he tells us
to try them again which is absurd. Later I had de Grenier and Russell for about an hour and a half to discuss various
things about customs etc which needed altering. Shaikh Sulman came in in a great fuss about the butchers who are
always very bolshie here and who refuse to pay the usual rent for their stalls in the meat market which belongs to
Sulman. In the afternoon we had our tennis party but very few people came so the tennis was very bad, afterwards we
had more people for Bridge. Parke stayed on a long time expecting to be asked to dinner but as I dislike people doing
this in too obvious a way I didnt ask him so eventually he went. A lovely day but beginning to be rather hot.