Page 623 - Belgrave Diaries(N)_Neat

evening. Prior had all the people including all the Mission, played games after dinner and some danced. The
dinner was very good. Much too hot weather for this time of year.

Friday 26th December

Went across to the Agency in the morning as Prior wanted to have a talk about the wedding arrangements.
Pennings, the American parson, Walker, who is best man, and de Grenier were there. They had a rehearsal in
the drawing room. It was most awfully comic. D.G. took it all very seriously. Prior acted as the bride and was
carrying on all the time, and Pennings also saw the joke. D.G. became very theatrical and then told Pennings,
very rudely, that he was to use a reverent voice. It was altogether a very comic show. Went to the Bank for
Bridge. Had tea with Ali bin Hussein, recently married, in the afternoon, he had threatened to give a dinner
party but Prior and I struck and said that as times are so bad we will not go to any more dinner parties this
year. The party was in the nuptial chamber, very stuffy mostly occupied by a large bed. Prior, Parke and D.G.
were there and a lot of Arabs including Yusuf Kanoo. Y.K. began talking about marriages and the
conversation became very free, D.G. was extremly angry as a good deal of it was aimed at him. Y.K. was
really rather rude but I dont think he meant to be. One of the Kozaibis was there and he and Kanoo sparred
all the time. Afterwards we motored out to Mohamed Yatim's garden and got a lot of very pretty cannas and
some pale pink oleandar. Hussein met us there and took us round the garden. A dinner party at the Bank in
the evening. Played a sort of race game and then vingt et un. Stayed very late. I am getting rather exhausted
by this round of dinner parties which means so many late nights. Miss Palmer has some nice clothes, a
number of very pretty evening dresses which look good and quite expensive. Very fine weather but rather
warm for this time of year, last winter it was much colder in December. D.G. has a tiresome way of coming
back with us to the house even after these very late parties, I find it most annoying so as a way of getting rid
of him say I will take him round to his house in the car.

Saturday [27 December]

What a busy day! Quite early in the morning people came and began arranging tables on the tennis court
and shifting all the tables and chairs out of the offices. They arranged seating for 200 at tables and a lot of
other benches and chairs. After breakfast we went off to the Biladya garden and got a certain amount of
flowers, then came back and arranged them all in the house. Miss Palmer helped with things and wrote out
all the menu cards for the party, I have made very nice ones each with a sort of cut out picture on it, very
effective. Very busy in the house all the morning. A lovely day, quite cool and sunny as usual. Had rather a
scrappy lunch and then made the bouquets for the bride and bridesmaid, one of yellow flowers and jasmine,
the other of pink oleandar. They were quite pretty and much improved by some fern which Prior has in his
garden from Karachi. Dressed after dinner and then M went across with Parke, who wore white uniform and
a sword, he looked quite smart. Dr Tiffany, the bridesmaid wore quite a pretty whiteish dress with a little
coat and a big hat, the bride wore a dress of black and yellow, very pretty, with a big hat to match. She really
looked very nice and the whole turn out extremly smart. Tiff was very nervous, she had never been to a
wedding in her life, as she said, only to funerals! Owing to the Shaikh being late we had to wait a long time,
we sat in the drawing room and then went out onto the veranda and watched the cars bringing people to the
reception, a few of the people arrived down below before we left the house which was a little awkward as we
had to pass them on the way to the car. Eventually The Shaikh arrived and we went across in Y.K's closed car.