Page 738 - Belgrave Diaries(N)_Neat

1932

rooms and in the passage. When it was over I came back and finished the letter and then Prior and I and Luard went out to
Idari and had a bathe which was very nice. We dined at Kanoos, quite a party and a very nice dinner all very clean and very
cool as they had it with fans all round. Tiff was there, the only woman, I talked to her quite a lot. Prior got a wire in the
afternoon saying that the Hejaz Government had made a formal protest against our action about the rice through the British
Minister at Jhedda so on that I made my letter even more definite. I can imagine how angry Ibn Saoud must be but it doesnt
matter to us. Went across to the Agency in the evening after dinner and looked over old confidential files about the treaty with
Ibn Saoud. Altogether a very busy day. I was very thankful when I got the long letter done and sent it out by car to the Shaikh
to sign, which he did. A taxi car ran into the Shaikh's car and knocked his car into the ditch but no one was damaged. He was
very angry about it and it might have been a bad accident, a good chance to turn in a few taxi drives for bad driving.

Sunday 26th [June]
Court. Luard left in the morning on the up mail going back to Abadan. Rather tired after such a day yesterday so slept in the
afternoon and didnt wake up till nearly six so too late to go out. Prior came across in the afternoon and also Skinner who had
been to see the boring machine which is working in Sh Sulman's garden and the bit has got lost in it, as usual, he said there was
small hope of getting it up again. Skinner is thinking of coming in to Manama to live and we talked of his taking Steele's
house, it would be a good thing. I am letting Steele go up to the Fort to live.

Monday [27 June]

Court. Motored with Mohamed Khalil in the afternoon to see some ground out near Berner which Sh Mohamed sold to
Kozaibis, there are a lot of doulabs on the ground which the Baharna claim to be theirs. On the way back I went to see D.G.
who was very sorry for himself as, I think, he had eaten too much, he called it a chill. Dull day.

Tuesday [28 June]

Very busy day in office, a lot of letters to write. A long case about one of the sepoys who had an affair with a young Baluchi
girl and the parents complained, she was about 14 quite a nice little thing and very intelligent. Evidently she was quite mad on
the man and eventually he said he would marry her as I thought that seemed the best way out of it, but I know her parents wont
agree. She said if she was separated from him she would kill herself. I had them in the office for about an hour, it was really
quite romantic the way she went on. Played tennis at the mission in the afternoon, the tennis there gets worse and worse.
Quite a lot of people there for a change, lately few have gone. They say the pearls are fairly good so far. A lot of boats are
coming in for stores so we shall know for sure in a day or two. Pretty hot weather still.

Wednesday [29 June]