Page 793 - Belgrave Diaries(N)_Neat

Fort. The Shaikh & Sulman came to the office in the morning & we discussed the Abdel Latif case. The Shaikh took a
very suitable line & said he should be punished like anyone else. He said old Shaikh Rashid must have known about it
& on the whole he didnt seem sorry to get a dig at Rashid. He stayed some time. Hot damp day. Shalam, our butler,
is away as his small son, a few days old, is said, by the Mission, to have got mumps, though it sounds unlikely. The
Shaikh had been out for two nights with Shaikh Ahmed at his island on a hunting trip, they shot several gazelle. Went
to see DG at the Customs & discussed a lot of things. He is going on leave on 27th so I shall be saddled with all the
customs work as well as my own - I've never had all three jobs to do at once - & in the summer. However I don't
mind. Three wapiti aeroplanes arrived & stayed the night, they landed in Manama. Took the family in the car to see
them, they look very small compared to Imperial Airways aeroplanes. James was very interested, then we went on to
Senean Garden. The wall has been built round the open ground in front of the house & I mean to include it in the
garden. Cool evening but hot day.

28th [Wednesday, June]

Meeting of Wakf Committee. Tennis in afternoon. Dined at Agency, a party of Shaikhs, Sh Hamed, Abdulla, Sulman,
Mohammed & Shaikh of Kuwait and also Dr Holmes. It was rather heavy as Lock does not get on easily in Arabic, but
the others talked fair amount. Shaikh Hamed got very confused over his knives & forks and eventually at the next
course used a fish knife, a meat knife & the knife from the dish & finally tackled it with his hands. The others got on
quite well & the Sh of Kuwait absolutely well, he is accustomed to European food. The Shaikh left early after dinner
but Sh of Kuwait stayed on a long time talking. The others looked surprised at his not going away when they did. His
manners are very good and he is easy & accustomed to English ways.

Thursday June 29th

Sh Abdulla came in & had a long talk, about the Abdel Latif case and many other matters, oil, the Persian business etc
etc. Busy in office. Went to Ein Hakem in evening & had tea there and bathed, James is getting on well with
swimming & will soon be able to swim alone. The tide was rather far out.

Friday [30th June]

Went down bazaar in the morning. Tennis at Agency in afternoon. The Shaikh of Kuwait had asked us to dinner again
but as it was very rough in morning we didnt go, but in the evening it got quite calm. Bridge at the Steeles. James &
Nanny went out with the Shaikh's two little granddaughters to a garden, the outing seems to have been a success.
Cool day.