My stepfather, Colin Tipton, who has died aged 72 after suffering from MS, was a dedicated and inspirational teacher. He was an expert on south-east Asia and his course in political sociology at the University of Surrey was always over-subscribed.
His political perspective was an extraordinary and highly engaging mixture of utopian socialism, libertarianism and enjoyment of the carnivalesque. Talks on international socialism were given in far-flung places, and Colin always went armed with his Good Food Guide, usually in a Harrods carrier bag. His argument was that there was no contradiction in this – it was a lifestyle he wished everyone to have.
From a working-class background in Essex, he went to Ilford county high school for boys and studied social sciences at Leicester University, followed by Asian studies at the London School of Economics in 1963. Three years later he joined what was then Battersea College of Technology, as a lecturer in general studies and sociology.
Not long afterwards, Battersea became the University of Surrey and moved to the present campus in Guildford, where Colin was to be seen on Saturdays, until his disease prevented it, selling copies of the Socialist Worker on the high street.
He was a widely popular figure in the town. In the 1980s, with his wife, Heather, he founded Guildford Jazz Club, which still flourishes. Whether cheering loudly (too loudly!) for his daughter, Polly, at her elite riding competitions, or supporting Heather, a borough councillor and local artist, at social gatherings, Colin, denim-clad and bearded, was always true to himself, and loved for it. His genuineness and enthusiasm were infectious and cut across political divides.
Colin will be remembered for cooking exotic food, wine in hand, music up loud, accompanied by good conversation and a series of risqué jokes. He described himself as a junkie of news and current affairs, and of vinyl. An aficionado of jazz and blues, he had thoughts of gaining a research grant for a study of international jazz festivals, although never had time to pull this off.
The onset of MS, slowly at first, was devastating in the long-term, leaving him paralysed. However, almost to the end, he remained the same charming, witty person, interesting and interested, still listening to his music and following public events.
He is survived by Heather, Polly, his stepdaughter, Rebecca, myself and five grandchildren.