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questions. Although he is going, having "resigned" he has not mentioned it, yet everybody in the place really knows
about it by now. - Yesterday night, I forgot to write it - we dined with the Spenses. The house simply apalled one
with ugliness - a glaring sort of arc lamp, green colour, & all of the most hideous, quite unspeakable, & a very
indifferent dinner at a table heavily laden with solid looking artificial flowers. Also present Pickering, Bank Manager,
& Geake, the Levy Officer. Several pauses in conversation, & altogether a painful affair. Afterwards we played cards,
which was more amusing. They really are terrible people, Geake is alright socially, but a fool. Went a walk after tea.

Tuesday 20th [April]

Went to office at 7 am, much to the surprise of de Grenier who appeared in pyjamas on his balcony - an unattractive
vision. Afterwards came back to breakfast at 8.30 & returned at 9.30 to a meeting of the Municipal Council of
which the Sheikh is president, it lasted a long time, a score of old greybeards, four of them had only one eye! like
the one eyed musicians in the Arabian Nights. They were rather comic, asking for a town doctor, who was to do
what they told him - "because they have one in the Municipality at Basra", they dallied with the idea of buying a
very expensive fire engine, mainly because it looked handsome in the adverts which they had received. Afterwards
Daly & I & the Sheikh made a surprise call on the Sheikhs so called Agent who was in charge of his affairs & his income
during his visit to England. He was put in the job to keep down expenses, & he swindled the Sheikh badly, spending
far more than he should over a handsome building - ostensibly offices for the conduct of the Sheikh's private affairs.
He bought 21 huge ledgers, enough to supply the Bank of England for a century, & all sorts of stuff, clocks, cameras,