Page 781 - Belgrave Diaries(N)_Neat

Skinner came to see me & stayed two hours complaining most of the time about Holmes who seems to have been
very rude to him & had told him that everyone here disliked the Skinners. He told me the history of the Jhedda
negotiations, a lot of oil people were all after a concession from Ibn Saoud but so far nobody has got it. Holmes is
very angry because the Americans, his Company, sent a man, unbeknownes to him, to negotiate the concession,
Holmes himself was supposed to be dealing with it but he didnt do anything about it, according to Skinner. Skinner
seemed very seedy & was evidently extremely worried about it all, he & Holmes had hardly seen eachother while H
was here. Tennis at the Mission in afternoon & Bridge at Mespers. The tennis was simply awful & I do so dislike
playing almost inside the womens hospital which is full of flies & smells & dirty diseased people.

Wednesday 17th May

Sh Abdulla came to see me. Worked all day upstairs on my Annual Report. Tea & tennis as usual. Went out after
dinner on an unsuccessful dope raid.

Thursday [18 May]

Fort. Spent some time looking over samples of uniforms which we got from England. They are better & much
cheaper than from India. Busy day in office, cleared up a heap of letters which were pending. Got a wire from Prior
to say he leaves England 3rd May by air for India, I suppose he has got some good job or he would not curtail his
leave. Went out to Gedhafs to see about a big case in which the Police have found a gang of thieves and a house full
of stolen property. The house was a big one on the edge of the village and an old mad man lived in the upper part
who threw stones at people who came near. The thieves lived down below. The house was full of stolen property
and there was quite an armoury of revolvers, rifles, daggers, etc. and a wonderful mixture of saddles, clocks, clothes,
chairs, iron & all sorts of stolen property. Some of the cushions were stuffed with stolen silk robes and there were
boxes all over full of things of every kind. The gang had been working for two years and the whole district
complained of thefts.

Friday [19 May]

Went round to the de Greniers in morning on the way back from bazaar to look over his annual report on the
Customs. Drove in afternoon & then Bridge at the Steeles.

Saturday [20 May]