My dad, Alan Smith, who has died after a heart attack aged 81, was an artist, designer and bon vivant at the heart of the “swinging London” scene of the 1960s, before embarking on a career in art education that culminated in him becoming principal of Bradford Art College.
It was while at Goldsmiths College, south-east London, studying fine art in the early 60s, that Alan became part of a bohemian scene of artists, publishers and poets drinking in pubs around Bloomsbury. Alan took on the role of driver for the Irish poet Patrick Kavanagh when he stayed in London.
