An hour after sunset I stood in my bath with my cabin door and window open onto the lake, doing my hair, and the perspiration ran down in rivers. Honestly I don't really mind it. As soon as there is any wind you become dry but this last night or two it has been quite windless. Yesterday we came down the Euphrates, stopping at several floating villages because Major Hamilton was making contracts with the shaikhs for reeds - we're hutting all our troops as fast as we can get the reeds. At one place we got into the shaikh's mashhuf and rowed among the huts and farmyards in order to inspect a different kind of reed house.
Reed architecture has many possibilities and can even be quite imposing.
There was a scorching south wind all day and my skin is burnt to a cinder. I was interpreter and picked up reed language as we went along. Our boat was going no further than Qurnah. I can't keep the door of my cabin open because so many people pass and to dress in a closed place 10 ft square with the temperature well over 100 has to be done in order to be understood. We dined with the Political Officer, on his roof by moonlight and blessed the moon, for if you light a lamp you are submerged by every sort of flying creature.