Page 951 - Belgrave Diaries(N)_Neat

949

1935

A service at the Agency, quite a lot of people attended. After breakfast went out with the Admiral and his
staff to see the Jufair land, spent a long time looking over the buildings and gardens. I took Mohammed
Khalil with me. M went to the Agency as Shaika Ayesha paid her official call on Mrs Rose the Admiral's
wife and then they returned the call at the Palace. Shaikh Hamed joined the ladies and sat with them talking
for some time, a most unusual procedure. He is becoming very broad minded in matters of that kind. The
other day the Kadi sent him a rather impudent letter about the undesirability of men & women looking on at
dancing etc during the Eid and he seems to have resented this. He discussed it lately when I and Abdulla
were there and showed that he was annoyed by the Kadi writing to him. Afterwards went to Fort where M
had been arranging seats and numbering the prizes, did some work there, then came back to lunch. We
expected three guests but they had to go back to the flagship for an important meeting, all very confused.
Mrs Creagh set fire to the ironing board by leaving the electric iron on it & it burnt right through, she was
reduced to mild hysterics. Went up to the Fort as soon as I had lunch, a grey day & rather stormy looking.
Five or six thousand people came to see the Sports, I have never seen such a crowd all in one place. The