Page 745 - Belgrave Diaries(N)_Neat

1932

Fort in the morning and then Manama Biladya meeting. Prior when he came told me that he had just had a wire from a sloop
to say that the Resident, Sir Hugh Biscoe died very suddenly this morning while transferring from the mail boat to a sloop. I
am very sorry indeed. It will be a tremendous loss to the Gulf and to Bahrain. Made arrangements for flags to be flown half
mast etc and after the meeting I looked in on Ham and told him the news and then went to see D.G. Shaikh Abdulla and Ali
bin Hussein came in to say how sorry they were after the meeting and several other people called and a lot of people called at
the Agency. In the afternoon I went to the mission, the tennis was awful and the flies horrible and they ... us one of their
dreadful drinks made of tea and lemonade and goodness knows what else all mixed up together, it literally made me feel sick
and had the same effect on Russell who asked for plain water. Afterwards went to Mespers where we had some Bridge.

Wednesday [20 July]

Didnt feel well so missed the office, put it down to the ... drink or possibly took too big a dose of quinine but think the former.
At all events always a good thing to take a day off now and then. Saw noone.

Thursday [21 July]
... morning, I have now got 20 recruits on parade and most of ... blacks. I shall have enough for two all black sections ... if not
more, and quite a good type of men too. Went to ... Kadis about some wakf business and then worked in office. ... from M
about coming home, went to see Prior about it. In the ... motored about the place and then Bridge at Mespers. Very ...

Friday 22nd July 1932

Went off early in the morning with Nasr and Musa in the car and motored all the way round the island, first we went out past
Zellag to Om al Tallah where the doctor and Ham and Russell were out after sand grouse, then on across the hills where there
was no road at all and in some place huge stones. I got stuck once in a sandy wadi and once I got a puncture, I dont think I
have ever had such difficult driving, then we got down onto the coast right at the end of the island, nothing to see at all but
some sand, then drove all along the coast by Dour, Jaw and Askar and went on to Ain al Hakim where I had lunch and had a
sleep, I had meant to stay till the evening and bathe but it blew up so hard and there was so much sand blowing that I left the
place and came home getting back in the early afternoon. I only saw one place of any interest and that was a tiny island off
Askar with a little house on it which is thought to be a very holy place, where some shaikh is buried and the people say that
you can leave anything there and it wont be stolen as the place is thought to be so sacred. There were no people in any of the
villages as they all go to Sitrah in the summer, Jow is a largish place, the others are very small. In the garden in the afternoon,
I had enough going out for one day and dinner at the Agency, one of the Marconi men was there and everyone was very bored
by him as he was over talkative, aggressive and very objectionable at Bridge, I played against him and beat him with Ham as
my partner which seemed to annoy him as he kept on saying what good players he was accustomed to play with and how he
had no cards while in Bahrain. Rather a dull party, Ham Russell and the other Marconi fellow were the party.