Page 756 - Belgrave Diaries(N)_Neat

Sunday 9th [October]

My three guests departed at dawn, I saw Selous before he left, the others went early. They flew round the
island looking for landing grounds & then ...

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October 20th Thursday

Office. Drove in afternoon. Dr & Mrs Holmes & Ham came to dinner. We asked Freund who couldnt come
so got the Holmes instead. Played Bridge, Contract, the others seemed to pick it up quite well.

Friday 21st [October]

Stayed late in bed & then read & wrote letters. Motored in afternoon after tea. The days are very short,
sunset at about 5.30 which makes it difficult to know how to arrange as before tea it is still rather hot, &
afterwards gets dark early. Sighted a lot of youths playing cards, gambling, which is forbidden. They play a
variation of the three card trick & get a lot of money out of divers who come home with full pockets & who
are simple fellows. Sent a message up to the Fort for half a dozen Police & till they came we motored on.
On returning I found almost the whole Police force marching down the road; over zealous, of course the
gamblers saw them too & fled but we had a grand hunt through the town & caught half a dozen of them.
M sat in the car while Hamood & I directed operations - it was really great fun, though when I think of how
we play Bridge I feel slightly awkward. Looked in on the de Greniers at the Customs on the way back.

Saturday 22nd [October]

Fort before breakfast, & then Court. My recruits are doing well except one or two. One of them is very
bad, a tall oldish black, and when the instructors tick him off he tells them that he used to be an
executioner in Hassa & cut off heads and hands - which is true. The sloop Bideford arrived. Invited the
Captain to tennis but there was a mix up over it & eventually when he & another man came we didnt
expect them, however we took them for a drive which they seemed to like. Denison, the Captain, was on
the King's yacht, a much older man than most of them and rather tiresome, he seemed annoyed that
nobody had been out to call on the ship but I never do. Our cow, who had a calf a few days before M & J
arrived, came round & is to live in a house in the compound, she looks very well & is giving about 12 pints of
milk a day.

Sunday 23rd [October]