Page 707 - Belgrave Diaries(N)_Neat

705

1932

Sunday [27 March]

A violent shamaal wind, almost as bad a one as there has been this year. The garden got very dashed about and the
oleandars lost most of their blossom. M went to the Easter Sunday service at the Mission but I could not get away as I
had a court. Worked at my history in the afternoon, it is very difficult in places to make the dates and facts which I
have dug out of a lot of books correspond. Often in a whole afternoon I only get half a page done. Motored out to
Berber and heard that one of the bridges on the road was down. After tea we went along to the R.A.F. camp to play
Bridge with the Navy, Terry and two others were there, a man called Hennessy, a most awful bounder and a young
midshipman called Bill who was quite alright. Very windy day and rather cold at the R.A.F. place.

Monday [28 March]

Court. Heard that Bishr bin Rahmah died in a coffee shop in Muharrak. He was a son of a man who used to be a very
well known pirate in the Persian Gulf and who is mentioned in all the accounts about these parts about 100 years ago, I
think he is the grandson perhaps, not the son. Settled the Sisi case which has been in the court for a long time. Very
strong shamaal. In the afternoon we went to a party at the Fort given by the men and officers as a farewell party to
Parke. It was very cold and very windy, we were met at the door by the Superintendent, very oily and effusive who
took us inside the Fort where they had a lot of tables and chairs set out and all decorated with flags and branches.
There were a good many of the local notables, Arabs Jews and Indians and some of the people from the offices.
Shaikh Sulman was there and very soon the Shaikh came with a lot of his followers, we sat at a table with him and the
D.Gs and the doctor and Sulman and had tea, there were some quite nice Indian cakes and biscuits and a lot of fruit and
sweets. After tea the Superintendent got up and read a long speech to Parke enumerating all the things he was
supposed to have done during his time here. It was extremly funny and I found it very difficult to prevent myself from
laughing, most awkward as I sat opposite to the Shaikh who looked very disapproving when he saw me amused by it.
It was a wonderful speech and gave credit to Parke for everything that has ever been done in Bahrain but the chef
d'oeuvre was that he mentioned as one of Parke's finest achievements that he had deported a number of foreign
prostitutes from Bahrain. After this Haji Sulman made the same speech in Arabic and then Parke replied with a really
excellent speech first in English and then in Arabic which was very well done indeed. We came home and had some
people into Bridge after tea. Icy cold day nearly cold enough for fires in the house.

Wednesday [29 March]

Didnt go to the Biladya as I had a lot of work to do which I have had to put off. Tennis at the Mission in the evening
and then Bridge at Mespers. Hakken told me a local superstition that people are afraid to walk through the cemetery
after sunset unless they have a piece of fur of a wolf in their hand, also that he heard that the Arabs say that Mrs
Pennings of the Mission, who is ill, got ill because she once went into the mortuary mosque in the cemetery behind the
Mission house. They were talking of Bahrain in the time before there were many people here, the first missionary was
Zwemer, rather a well known man now. He was in the market and saw some grapes which he wanted to buy as his
wife was ill, so he ordered them. Later one of the Shaikhs' fidowis, servants, came up and saw them and asked for
them, the seller said he had sold them to Zwemer, the servant demanded them saying he was a servant of the Shaikhs
and so must have them, Zwemer arrived and still the servant refused to give in so Z picked them up and stamped them