By Leicester Mercury | Posted: 3 October, 2016
A turf-cutting ceremony to mark the start of a £6 million extension to the LOROS hospice was a special moment for Leicester City ambassador Alan "The Birch" Birchenall.
He has been involved with the Groby Road hospice since it opened 31 years ago, has been one of its patrons for five years and donated money from his end-of-season runs to the hospice.
He said: "I got involved with the hospice when it opened.
"Five years ago they invited me to become one of their patrons, which I am honoured to be.
"If I'm doing something like that I get 100 per cent behind it and I've been going backwards and forwards there for years."
He persuaded City chief executive Susan Whelan to let him take the Premier League trophy so the patients, staff and volunteers could have their picture taken with it.
The Birch was recently at the hospice every day for three weeks visiting an old mate, Tony Bull, before he died.
The two met after The Birch, on his way from Filbert Street to the training ground in a club minibus with the likes of Peter Shilton, Frank Worthington and Keith Weller, persuaded the driver to stop when he saw a red E-type jag with the plate AJB 5 – his initials.
He said: "There was a young lad driving it who turned out to be the mechanic. I asked him 'Will you tell the owner Alan Birchenall is interested in buying his plate?'
"I never thought any more about it and then one night I was in Grannie's Nightclub in London Road with Frankie Worthington when someone pointed out the jag's owner – Anthony John Bull – at the end of the bar."
A short exchange ended with Mr Bull telling The Birch "You haven't got enough money".
The Birch said: "As I walked away he shouted after me 'You were rubbish tonight!'.
"I couldn't believe it – although I was pretty poor that night."
Two weeks later when the men met again by chance at a dinner party, Mr Bull told him he was a big City fan and was just having a bit of fun, but he still wasn't interested in selling the number plate.
They swapped phone numbers, the two became good friends and for many years The Birch gave him his ticket allocation for home games.
The Birch said: "Someone who sat near him asked me about him and I said 'he's one of my best mates'.
"He replied that he wouldn't like to meet my enemies because he spent the whole game sat behind him saying the number 10 (me) was rubbish!
"But that was his sense of humour. I am so happy I met him 45 years ago.
"He was a character and we bounced off one another. He spent his final days in LOROS and it truly is a wonderful place."
The turf cutting marked the beginning of work on a two-phase expansion programme.
