Page 2279 - Belgrave Diaries(N)_Neat

2276

1945

Saturday 18th October

Returned from Jidda before breakfast, quite chilly in the early morning. Shaikhs came in. All say that Sh A
was at the bottom of the recent troubles & this I fully believe. He looks even more sly than before, though
outwardly amiable. I am sure he detests Sulman & his brother Mohd. When alone HH spoke of the letter
which was sent to the I.O. by some people here, he seemed very concerned about it & said he wished to write
direct to the I.O about it.

Sunday 19th October

Spent most of the morning at the office, a proceeding which the staff strongly disapprove of, first at the PWD
where I looked over plans & figures and picked out some furniture for the Smith family, then to the customs
& walked round the new shop. Everything seems muddled & difficult, prices of some foods are going up &
countries who should supply them cannot do so. We used to buy wheat from Iraq, now Iraq is getting
Canadian wheat & Narayan is sending parcels of rice to his family in S India from here. Grotesque.
Gardened after lunch, put in a few more flower seeds, some of the first lot are appearing, M still not well, had
AC unit working. Drove round by Gasari. The Grants & one Corduroy came to call, he in the Kuwait Oil