Page 725 - Belgrave Diaries(N)_Neat

723

1932

Police station, then court, Khalil Moayad came to see me. I couldnt make out what it was about as he talked of so
many things, mostly to say how badly everyone else was behaving. Busy court, had a lot of cases, everyone wants to
get people to pay their debts before the diving begins. The official date is next Thursday but I expect most will go out
on Saturday. Drove with the dogs in the afternoon and than raided a shop belonging to two Persians behind Major
Holmes' house where we found some arak. The information was from Mohamed and Hamood, I believe they get news
from a Bannia who seems to be a good source of information. While in the house we heard noise of bottles being
broken in the room above which belonged to a house of some Jews so went up and found two empty bottles smelling of
arak and also a drain where it had evidently been poured down. Quite a good raid, then went to the D.Gs for dinner
and Bridge, Dr Holmes was there. When I left Haji Sulman came up and told me that he had caught a boy, a servant of
Khalifah bin Hamed of Jessra taking arak from Draaz and then he found suspicious signs of it being made in a house in
Draaz.

Sunday 22nd May 1932

Court. In the afternoon I went out to Tubli to have a Wakf Department election, a place on the left of the Rafaa road on
the way to Ain al Hakim. Quite a nice little village which I had never been to. They unanimously elected the man who
had represented them before. On the way back I went in to see Holmes and stayed there till dinner time, Russell and
Ham and Steele were there too.

Monday [23 May]

Court, very busy with a lot of cases that have to be finished before diving starts. In the afternoon we went to Arad for
the last of the elections, except Manama. We went by launch all the way, a really delightful trip as it was quite cool on
the water especially coming back. The back of Muharraq looked very pretty on the way back as the sun was setting
behind the houses with all the boats in front of the town full of men working on them and preparing them for sea. Took
a photo of the old fort at Arad. The place where we had the meeting was some distance inland and after it was over we
rode back on donkeys. Here again they all decided in favour of one man though not until after a good deal of arguing
and consulting among themselves. Quite a nice trip on the whole. Wrote letters after dinner. Still a shamaal breeze
they say it is the Bara but I hope not as it is too early for it to start. At times it is quite a gale but out of the breeze it is
hot.

Tuesday [24 May]

Down mail arrived and on it Gastrell, the first Secretary from Bushire, as Prior had not returned I had arranged for him
to stay with me so he came here direct. He is a nice person, about two inches taller than me, made me feel quite short.
I was busy in the office so didnt go to Biladya meeting but I took him down to the bazaar to get some things he wanted
and then heard that Prior had returned so he came over to lunch and afterwards Gastrell went to the Agency. D.G.
came in after lunch with some papers I wanted from him. Later I went out to Sakhrir to meet the Shaikh who came in
to see me from Rumaitha. He seemed very worried about the divers as he said he heard they were not pleased with the
selaf, which certainly is very low indeed, 25/- and 30/-, but in other places they have only been given 16/-. I had heard