I first got involved in the Wellington film scene about ten years ago. It was a family movie about a lake monster. Kind of a Scottish Whalerider.  I started in Paint, plastering the inside of a castle and I really enjoyed it.  Met some great people in the art and construction departments – just surrounded by talent and hard work and it was all building up to the big wrap party.

On the night of the big bash there was an All Black test at the Cake Tin and Don had scored us some cheap tickets. So Don, Markus and I all headed off – dressed up to the nines (Don in his vampire guise if I remember correctly) – All Blacks/South Africa then big party on the set – good night ahead!

We get in fine and make it to our seats but as the teams are coming onto the field some other folks turn up saying the seats are theirs. The Police arrive and we are all taken aside.  It turns out our tickets were genuine but stolen. Don explains how he bought them in good faith and the cops are all good. As are the ticket-people, they give us even better seats that are unclaimed and we settle down to the national anthems sitting amongst rugby royalty.

As the Haka starts we are dragged away again, this time by the stadium authorities who say we breach their insurance policy…

So we just go to the party.

And it rocks. It’s held in the rooms of the castle we made and it’s all laid on – fantastic food and booze and beautiful people I make up for missing the ABs by getting trashed.

About 2am I’ve hit the wall – no more, gotta get home. I’m walking out through the various sumptuous rooms when Don sees me and tells me I’ve got to stay and get my second wind. He hands me a beer and sits me down in the almost empty ballroom.

I drift off and when I come to, there are the two most beautiful women I’ve ever seen dancing on the empty dance floor. I watch them, spellbound. When one of them leaves the other comes up to me and pulls me up to dance.

Not known for my great dancing – I think I was on that night. It was eighties music, Cure and Talking Heads and it was like heaven. At one point she kicked off her shoes. We must have danced for hours then she said….

“It’s dawn” or “I’m Dawn”.

And then she kissed me.

And then she went.

I walked back to town from Stone Street.

The Ghost of Electricity – War Stories by Jon McLeary is a new initiative at Off The Tracks, a series of stories and reflections from painter, writer and musician Jon McLeary

To read War Stories # 1 click here

To read War Stories # 2 click here

To read War Stories # 3 click here