Page 681 - Belgrave Diaries(N)_Neat

1932

acquire any rights to land. We decided to bring into force the old family law of the Khalifah that on the death of any member
all land which he has been granted by the Ruler reverts to the ruler who can dispose of it as he pleases. It will be a good move.
M went to dinner with Ayesha, there was an awful mix up as she tried to put it off to lunch next day and by mistake the letter
about lunch was sent to old Ayesha, with M were Mesdames Steele, Parke and de Grenier, quite a cavalcade. When I got back
I went over to the Agency again for another long talk with Prior and the Resident about local politics and general business.
The Shaikh of Kuwait dined at the Agency and when asked, out at Sakhrir he made a great fuss apologising for not having his
dinner jacket with him, all done to impress the Shaikh who has never worn a coat in his life. The Resident went out to the boat
after dinner en route for the Trucial Coast.

Wednesday [6 January]

Office. The Shaikh came in after lunch to talk about an allowance which is usually paid to the Khalifah at Ramadan and which
owing to the shortness of money this year I have said I can not pay, he was very tiresome about it as evidently his relations are
as usual pestering him about it. M came in while he was here just returned from Muharrak and he talked about the old lady
over there, he seemed very interested about M having been there to lunch, he said she was Wa'ash, which means uncivilised,
she certainly is. She apparently tackled Mrs Parke about leaving her husband so long out here without coming out and said it
was very bad. She is an old lady who never hesitates to say what she thinks. In the afternoon we had our usual tennis and
Bridge, now we have some playing Mah Jong as well, rather a good innovation. It was very windy and a lot of sand blowing.

Thursday 7th Jan 1932

Court. Awful day, thick yellow sand blowing all day, they say it has come all the way from Iraq, it is certainly a colour of sand
which I have never before seen here, we could hardly see the Agency next door. In the evening we went out to Sakhrir to dine
with the Shaikh, a queer little dinner, the Skinners, the Steeles and Major Holmes, we had quite a good dinner and really it was
much nicer than the big shows. We had the sides of the car up so it was not so bad driving out. Holmes took the Tatler to
show the Shaikh some pictures of silugis and after looking at them he turned over the pages and looked at the other pictures
asking me all about them, which was at times a little awkward as there were rather a lot of very nude theatrical and film stars.
He turned to an advertisement of rouge and powder etc and wanted to know all about it and when I said that most English
women used powder he thought it so very queer for, as he said, they already had white faces so why make them whiter. Two
of the silugis in the picture were bred from one of his which was sent home.

Friday [8 January]

Went a motor drive in the morning along the south coast to a spring called Ain al Hakim, a most attractive place right on the
edge of the sea, a big round freshwater spring with a little stream running off from it. I had never been there before. We took
the dogs with us to give them some exercise. No tennis at the Agency as Prior was expecting a flying boat with Sir Philip
Sasoon in it on his way to India. He is Secretary for Air or something in the new Government. We went to tea and Bridge
with Major Holmes instead and had a very pleasant evening though it became rather rowdy as everyone started dressing up and
playing about and then throwing things at eachother. An American Engineer who came over from the mainland came to dinner
with us, he is employed by a rather well known American called Crane who takes a great part in Mohamedan politics and is