IT seemed like an epidemic of the seven-year itch and possibly something terminal.
Director of the Academy for Performing Arts, John Hosier, was leaving. So were the Dean of Dance and the heads of Acting (English) and Technical Arts (Theatre), while all that remained of the Dean of Music was the pungent whiff of scandal.
Was the ivory tower crumbling? Not a sign of it as the APA celebrated its seventh birthday and geared itself for a new era. Looking remarkably serene was John Hosier.
After four years in the stylish grey building in Gloucester Road, he was satisfied the academy was firmly on course and confident about handing over the reins to Lo King-man, currently deputy director of the Hongkong Polytechnic. Finally, he could also enjoy a long-overdue private life.
''I'll be 65 in November and felt it was about time I retired. Perhaps it's the musician in me - that feeling of things coming to end.
''I'm here till August, then getting married to Biddy. Probably the only way for us to resolve things, was for me to retire. We've both been so busy in our jobs.'' The romance between John Hosier, CBE, and Biddy Baxter of Blue Peter fame - ''she shaped it and made it the most popular children's TV programme in Europe'' - has been an open secret for years, though news of the impending nuptials astounded at least one close friend this week.
Thousands of miles away, different shock waves were being felt as Queensland learned of its impending loss: director of the State's Conservatorium, Anthony Camden, was leaving to join the APA in September as Dean of Music.
