Page 859 - Belgrave Diaries(N)_Neat

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1934

the English & Americans and some of the Shaikhs' men danced in the compound, but it was rather too
small to hold them. After an early dinner I went off with the Shaikh in his car, followed by a long string
of cars and we did a tour of the bazaar. It was quite a triumphal procession. The people were so thick
that we could hardly move and everywhere they threw scent over us and brought coffee. He had said he
would not leave the car but he went into about a dozen shops & offices and took coffee then stayed in the
car. We had so much coffee that he & I poured it on the floor of the car as it was impossible to drink any
more & the car became sticky with scent & coffee & the water. M went round with the DGs in their car
to see the show & they had a most amusing time till the car stuck in the middle of the bazaar but
fortunately I had just left the Shaikh & was able to come & rescue them. We didn't get home till quite
late. The bazaar was quite unrecogniseable & more like Cairo or Baghdad. The people all seemed very
pleased to see the Shaikh & he was cheered everywhere.

Thursday [1st February[]

A very full day, busy morning & Police Sports in afternoon. After breakfast I went down to the bazaar
with ... sulman & we bought prizes, socks, pullovers, watches etc some of them Japanese & very cheap.
The whole market is flooded with Japanese stuff at very low prices, but it doesn't last. The people buy it
because money is so short and they can't afford anything better - or more expensive. The Sports were a
great success, a huge crowd looked on and a lot of the navy & all the Europeans & Americans. The men
enjoyed it all extremely and everyone said how nice it was to see them enjoying it so much. Some of the
races, cornie... ones were extremely popular. the Shaikh didn't look at all bored & I think the audience
enjoyed it as much as my police did. I asked Mrs Loch to give away prizes which she did. In the evening
there was a dinner party at the Palace. The Agency party & some of the naval officers, us the DGs & the
doctor, after dinner there was more dancing in the moonlight, very picturesque, The SNO's wife is here,
Mrs Creagh, a rather silly woman who describes herself as being "a bundle of nerves" & their son is on