Page 99 - Personal Column (Charles Belgrave)_Neat

One of the ways by which we obtained money for the church was by
* they were members of the Ruling Family, brought their little boys and
‘Bring and Buy’ stall, where Marjorie and a band of helpers worked, were
holding a garden fete every year. I associated garden fetes with vicarage every conceivable sort of thing, ranging from books, china and gramo­
lawns, or Lady Somebody’s garden, kindly lout for the occasion, with phone records to, one year, a suit of armour, which I found very difficult
doubts about the weather, the smell of damp tents, hot tea and over- to sell. Gambling was not allowed—if it had been permitted we could
heated schoolchildren, but in Bahrain the aiuiual garden fete, by most have made vast sums of money—but young women wandered round
people pronounced ‘feet’, was a very different affair. It was held on a inviting people to judge the weight of a cake or how many peas they had
Friday, the Moslem holiday, in the early spring. It had to be fitted in so in a bottle.
as not to coincide with Easter week or the Spring Race Meeting. One I and my son, when he was in Bahrain, and a few young men helpers,
did not have to worry about the weather, rain was almost out of the ran donkey rides for children round a circular ‘sweep’ in front of the
question, it was sure to be sunny but it might be rather hot. house. We charged two annas, about twopencc-farthing, for a ride twice
It took place in the garden of Al Bustan, the house of Edward Skinner round the circle, and although Bahrain was full of donkeys the children
and his wife. He was Resident Director of BAPCO and his wife, Irene queued up in scores for rides. I borrowed the donkeys from the Manama
Skinner, had been one of the earliest members of the Church Committee. Municipality; normally they pulled rubbish carts. Sometimes a donkey
Both of them were keen gardeners and their garden was the largest and would break away and race down the drive in the direction of his stables.
pleasantest one in Manama. Their house, too, was one of the few houses When this happened I always hoped that the rider’s parents were not in
in Bahrain which, although they were American, had the atmosphere of sight; however, we never had any casualties.
an English country house. The smooth green lawns were surrounded by One year we had a baby show. The children were judged by Dr Snow
• hedges of pink, white and red oleanders, beyond them were glimpses of of the Government Hospital and the Matron, Miss Maguire. When
the blue sea. The beds were full of English annuals, stocks, carnations, judging began the atmosphere became tense. Mothers of babies who
tobacco plant and larkspur, backed by tropical shrubs and trees. The long, were not successful began arguing with the judges and the competition
low house was covered with jasmine and different kinds of bougain­ ended in chaos. We gave up this form of competition because after­
wards nobody could be found to undertake the invidious duty of
villaea; beyond the flower garden was a grove of trees and date-palms
which gave shade to the stalls and booths and tea tables and to the band of judging..
Dancing on the lawn by the girls of the BAPCO school ended the
the State Police, resplendent in their scarlet turbans playing Strauss waltzes
and Sousa marches. entertainment. Though the children looked attractive, especially in the
beautiful surroundings, they did not dance well; the presence of parents
All kinds of people came to the show. There were Europeans and
and young friends sitting on the grass around the lawn, making audible
Americans, the men in open-necked shirts and their wives in summer remarks about the performers, had a disturbing effect on them. But one
dresses and some of the small children in almost nothing at all. Indian
year there was a new feature. A little Persian girl, who had been trained
women made a splash of colour, wearing beautiful saris. Whicc-robed
by an Indian, performed a solo dance which was a pleasure to watch; it
Arabs, some of them wearing golden head circlets which denoted that
was sensuous and Oriental, not at all the sort of dance which was taught
to American and English schoolgirls.
girls, clasping a few sticky rupees which they had been given to spend, and
In the summer of 1953 the Shaikh was invited to attend the Coronation
many little Arab girls from the schools arrived in their neat uniforms with
of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth as the guest of the British Government.
some of the foreign teachers. The fact that the fete was in aid of a Christian
There was great competition to accompany him, but the party eventually
church did not deter anybody from supporting it: local shopkeepers,
consisted of the Shaikh, his youngest son Shaikh Mohammed, who was
Arabs and Indians, gave generous help by sending things to sell in the stalls
then aged about-fifteen, Husain Yateem, a Bahrain Arab who had been at
and by themselves running some of the sideshows.
school in England and had travelled much in Europe and America, two
The stalls and sideshows were much the same as one would see at a
Arab servants and myself and Marjorie. We went by sea from Beirut and
bazaar or fete in England. People sold home-made sweets and cakes,
across Europe by train, breaking the journey at Venice, Montreux and in
flowers and fresh vegetables, embroidery and needlework, and at the
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