My friend Mike O'Brien has died aged 66 from bone cancer. I will miss his insights into cultural excellence, his radical political musings and his philosophising on life's vicissitudes. I'll also miss his wry observations on local life in Barnsley, South Yorkshire: the town's leading gastronomic delicacy, he once pronounced, was the "Sunday morning pavement pizza".
You needed your wits about you with Mike. One morning, my office phone rang. "Sorry I can't join you in the management meeting. You'd adore Hong Kong. Have to ring off, my G&T has just arrived," followed by laughter.
Born in Sheffield, son of John, a coalminer, and Elsie, who was in service, Mike grew up on a council estate in Hackenthorpe, where he also went to school. Although his father was against the idea, Mike went to London to study at the Camberwell art school. His work as a freelance designer frequently took him abroad, particularly to New York, a city he celebrated for its creative dynamism. Mike had this quality in abundance.
Hungry for fresh challenges, he plunged enthusiastically into further education management, initially in 1980 at Barnsley College of Art, and subsequently at Barnsley College, the tertiary college that opened in 1990, where he became head of creative and expressive arts.
Many education managers lack the creative drive to make a significant impact. Mike was a rare exception, and he transformed Barnsley College's arts curriculum. Committed to open access, he was the driving force behind the provision of courses which ranged from foundation to degree level and gave prominence to vocational skills. He recognised the importance of making cutting-edge technology available to students, especially in the resplendent new music centre.
Even bolder was his successful negotiation with the universities of Leeds and Sheffield to validate Barnsley College degrees, which significantly raised qualification levels in the working population and radically changed many lives. Mike was instrumental, too, in developing the college's international profile. Some degree students were able to spend time in the US, at California State University, and the enrolment of numerous students from China lent an international dimension to Barnsley's courses.
After redundancy in 1998, Mike worked for the Coalfields Regeneration Trust, overseeing economic regeneration projects in those areas formerly dominated by the coal and related industries. He reluctantly retired on health grounds in 2010.
Mike had recently enjoyed visiting Peru, Nepal and Japan. He was an aficionado of Japanese culture, and witnessing the cherry blossom festival in 2004 was an ambition achieved.
He is survived by his wife, Sue, whom he married in 1971, his daughters, Sophie and Chloe, and his grandchildren, Ethan and Faith.