Burdiehouse residents invited to line streets in tribute to local newsagent

John and Dorothy Laing ran the newsagent on Southhouse Broadway

Residents of Burdiehouse are invited to line the streets to say goodbye to a bastion of the community.

John Laing passed away at Cameron Park nursing home on April 27, aged 89.

The father-of-two will be laid to rest at Mortonhall on Thursday, May 7 and anyone unable to attend the funeral due to lockdown is invited to line Captains Road at 2.30pm on the day to pay their respects.

A post circulating on Facebook has also asked that all those in attendance keep a safe 2 metres apart from one another when giving John the send off he deserves.

Both John and his wife Dorothy ran the local newsagents on Southhouse Broadway, locally referred to as “John’s”, for more than 40 years in Burdiehouse. Dorothy sadly passed away in 2014 at the age of 70.

Before giving up the shop in 2002, the couple were well known for their love for the community and saw the responsibility of running the local store as an honour.

Tributes have poured in for the much-loved former shop manager.

John’s son, “Wee” John Laing, said: “The respect they had in the community was immense. The two of them appreciated the role of responsibility that they played in the community as well.

“I remember my dad would open the shop on Christmas so those feeling lonely could pop down and have a glass of wine and a mince pie and listen. He used to do tic for families waiting on money coming in, was one of the sponsors for the local primary’s breakfast club and hired local residents to work in the store. They both used to deliver shopping to vulnerable residents and I can only imagine what they would be doing now.”

Gina Davidson, family friend and neighbour, said: “John, and his late wife Dorothy, were stalwarts of the community. Everyone who grew up in Burdiehouse and Southhouse from the 1960s onwards knew them and were likely on the receiving end of their kindness and generosity at one time or another.

“The fact that so many want to pay their respects to John during this difficult time shows just how highly regarded he was and I hope his family can draw some comfort from that.”John was an avid Jambo, record collector and the youngest of twelve siblings. His family was always heavily involved in the newspaper industry in Edinburgh.

His mother and brothers both sold the Evening News from stands on Hanover Street amongst other sites.John is survived by his two children, seven grandchildren and two great grandchildren.