Page 636 - Belgrave Diaries(N)_Neat

634

1931

such a thing. We are mending the old tower as much as is needed to keep it standing. I find that de Mallo was four years in
East Africa during the war and has four medals, a thing I never knew before. I had quite a long talk with him. The place is
shut off by a stout barbed wire netting fence with a gate at the end facing the land. He told me that all the people in Muharrak
had been out to see it and all admired it. It is very plain and in style like the school.

Tuesday [3 February]

Two men of war arrived in the morning, the Cyclamen and the Hastings, the latter came in almost up to the John Lambert, one
can see the people on the docks quite easily with a glass and even without one. She is a neat looking boat. The Patric Stewart
arrived later in the early afternoon with the P.R. Alban, Major Symons, who has taken Colonel Dixon's place and one
Lascelles, Chief Secretary of the Legation at Teheran. Prior asked me to put up Symons, he came round at about tea time with
Alban in D.G's car. Quite a nice fellow, ginger hair, a clipped moustache and rather an angry expression which didnt mean
anything apparently. He has been in India a lot but not before in the Gulf. I found him very pleasant and interesting. Alban
looked a lot older and very seedy and thin. He has been having headaches and sort of neuralgia a lot. I thought he seemed
very unwell. Holmes came in after tea and stayed a long time talking to Symons. I didnt go to the Agency as I was dining and
playing Bridge at Mespers. D.G. threatened, on the phone, to wear his top hat outfit but I told him, perhaps a little harshly, not
to do so. He was offended for various reasons, first he complained that he had not had due notice about their arrival, then he
said that Prior had been very off hand with him when the party landed on the customs, and then he was very angry because
Lascelles asked him what the piece of red cloth was hanging on the big mast, it was of course a flag but put up so queerly that I
myself wondered what it was. He said he thought Lascelles' manner was very queer, actually it was "Oxford". Quite a
pleasant evening at Mespers, nobody dressed as we went early for Bridge and stayed on for dinner. Rain as I left, quite hard.
A lot of water about on the roads. The harbour looked quite crowded with the three white ships and a German boat outside.
D.G. told me in the evening that "they" proposed "toddling out" to call on the sloops in the morning. I said "who do you
mean?" and he said "Why, me and the wife". I then gave him a straight talk on calling for ladies on men of war and told him of
the lady who called on the officers mess in Brighton, he didnt seem to have realised it at all and said he was obliged for my
telling him, and said at once that he proposed leaving his wife's cards at the Agency next day, so I had to tell him all about that
too, he took it quite well but was I am sure disappointed. He wont ever do it again I am sure. Poor D.G. The third time I have
missed the Mission.

Wednesday 4th Feb.

The Resident sent me a message last night that he wanted to see me in the morning at 10, went over and had a talk with him for
a couple of hours. He was very pleasant and asked a lot about things in general. Very satisfactory interview. He started
talking about Muscat and then simply let himself go about Thomas whose behaviour seems to have been far worse than we
ever heard. He went down to Dhofar, south of Muscat, in the boat the Said on 14 days local leave, which according to his
contract can only be taken out of the State. The boat was to bring him back. It returned without him but with a letter asking
for four months leave addressed to the Council of Ministers, who, as he knew, were not in the position to grant him such leave.
In the meantime, without waiting for a reply he went off into the blue and has not been heard of since that date, about six
weeks ago. The accounts in Muscat were in a perfectly awful state, money owing and huge payments without anything to
show what they were for, and all sorts of unsuitable money transactions with the sort of Yusuf Kanoo, merchant Prince of
Muscat. The P.R. hinted at a good deal and said he was very angry indeed about it as T had always been very well treated and