Thursday February 5th 2026
Loanhead Post Office
Written by Midlothian View Reporter, Liam Eunson
From their charity work to their 300 person plus Christmas open day, Loanhead Post Office works with community in mind, being more than just a business but a local asset ‘heavily involved in community work’.
Dealing with a recent break-in that saw their charity donation box stolen, the Loanhead community helped the beloved post office rally back, helping them gain back the stolen money only days after it was taken.
Working on projects abroad, county wide and within Loanhead, the post office works with the mindset that they are more than a business but a friend to their community. Explaining that they are ‘all for the community thriving’, manager Asif and his brother Adl are in strong belief that their shop is more than a post office but a hub for community connection.
Despite working on community projects for years, the post office gained large attention this year after they hosted a Christmas Day get together aiming to reduce loneliness and bring the community together, opening their doors for anyone on Christmas for the first ever time in 25 years.
Explaining that he was overwhelmed by the turnout, store manager Asif Bashir described the Christmas Day event as a beautiful and emotional day, welcoming over 300 people through the post office doors.
He added: “If you’re a post office you’re not just a business, we don’t see it as just a business. We are friends with 99% of the people who come in here. If you are young or old, it doesn’t matter, we get along with everybody.
“We chat to everybody and we know a lot of them by name, you don’t get that nowadays. I think a lot of people feel comfortable here, you don’t get that in business much anymore and we’ve always been like that.”
Calling Loanhead their home since they were nine years old, Asif and Adl thought just opening on Christmas Day wasn’t enough, inviting people along for a chat, to socialise and help themselves to food they prepared, giving back to their beloved community, alongside targeting loneliness they have noticed amongst some members of their community.
Asif Bashir, manager at Loanhead Post Office
“We are local guys”, Asif explained, “I know all the generations but over time I’ve noticed that there are a lot of people left by themselves. So what I did was openly invite anybody that was by themselves to come along and I put a spread together for them.
“We were expecting only 20 or 30 people through the door but in the end we had over 300 people and it wasn’t just individual people, it turned out families turned up or couples who were by themselves.”
Asif’s kind gesture was reciprocated by other community members with Pentland Plants donating plants on the day and a local store from Dalkeith bringing sweets for all the children.
“The amount of people that came through was great and it was so nice because people were bringing gifts and I was giving them out to people, it turned out like a little secret santa.’
Loanhead Post Office’s charity and community work goes beyond last Christmas, taking part in projects for years prior.
Working to raise money for clean water wells abroad, alongside other charity groups, Asif explained that their Christmas event aimed to fulfill a ‘need in the community’ with the business now taking on more community work since their recent popularity, moving more heavily towards work in Loanhead and Midlothian.
“After the event, I was approached by other charities”, Asif explained, “The Women’s Refuge contacted me saying that they have seen what we are doing and if there is anything we can help them with and I said of course, we can help you.
“As soon as I set that up everybody in the community just wanted to chip in and help. But, it was that charity money that was stolen.”
After their break-in, the Women’s Refuge charity money was gone, but Asif explained that the community were incredible, helping to re-raise the money.
Alongside donations, Loanhead Post Office holds a food bank at the nearby Bonnyrigg Mosque, welcoming in anyone for food and a chat, now having an average of 30 families coming along.
“We are firm believers in respecting all faiths in Islam, for us they are all friends.The Christmas Day event was very emotional for us.”
Recently dealing with his daughter going through major heart surgery, Asif explained that the period of time during her lifesaving surgery put him down for a couple months but he remained head strong, relying on his community to deal with the situation.
“Not a lot of people knew about it but it was very big for me. I’ve always tried to remain head strong and get on with things and just aim to help people out”, he explained.
Asif’s most recent community project is in partnership with Midlothian’s Business Gateway. After being contacted by the business advice service after seeing a post made on Facebook, they are currently in the works to organise an event that offers advice to local entrepreneurs.
Asif explained: “I am all for the community thriving, like butchers, barbers, chemists, opticians, hairdressers, any small business. In small towns like Loanhead you need small businesses to thrive.
“I have a meeting with Business Gateway where we are going to plan an event. I have had a lot of young entrepreneurs calling me but I’ve always put off this kind of event. Business Gateway are going to fund the event and are going to help me with the whole thing because what they do, I have been trying to do as well. Having them on board with this community project has been phenomenal.”
Using his business experience to further help to grow his community is Asif’s biggest up-coming project, hoping to inspire younger generations and further give back to Loanhead and Midlothian.
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