{"id":217,"date":"2024-03-06T16:19:33","date_gmt":"2024-03-06T16:19:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/apbookshop.co.uk\/index.php\/bookshop-history\/"},"modified":"2024-05-22T22:14:29","modified_gmt":"2024-05-22T22:14:29","slug":"bookshop-history","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/apbookshop.co.uk\/index.php\/bookshop-history\/","title":{"rendered":"Bookshop History"},"content":{"rendered":"\n \n
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Bookshop History
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50 Years \u2013 Holding forth the Word of Life<\/p>\n <\/div>\n <\/section>\n

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The following \u2018Brief \nHistory of The Christian Bookshop\u2019 was written by Michael Keen in 1999. \nAfter that there is a further account that takes us through Covid and \nbrings us up to where we are now in 2024. I have kept Michael\u2019s account \nunaltered.A brief history of The Christian Book Shop, Aberystwyth, on its 25th Anniversary\u201cEarly\n one Tuesday morning several men removed the whitewash from a shop \nwindow at 3 Western Parade, Aberystwyth, and revealed an attractive \nChristian Book Shop. Children going to school at 8.30 looked through and\n said \u2018Look at those men praying in there\u2019. The date was May 7, 1974.\"<\/p>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n

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A brief history of The Christian Book Shop, Aberystwyth, on its 25th Anniversary\n\u201cEarly one Tuesday morning several men removed the whitewash from\n a shop window at 3 Western Parade, Aberystwyth, and revealed an \nattractive Christian Book Shop. Children going to school at 8.30 looked \nthrough and said \u2018Look at those men praying in there\u2019. The date was May \n7, 1974.
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\u201cA number of Christians from Alfred Place Baptist Church<\/a> had discussed the project for several years and made various enquiries.\n Now their plans had finally come to fruition. In the previous year they\n had witnessed the followers of the Guru Maharaji opening shops in \nAberystwyth to sell health foods, hand crafts and their misleading \nliterature. They had seen four Marxist students selling communist papers\n in the main streets on Saturday afternoons. They had had the so-called \nJehovah\u2019s Witnesses calling regularly at the doors with their magazines.\n But what were Christians doing?\n <\/p>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n

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\u201cThis concern weighed on their hearts increasingly. When some shops \nowned by British Rail went empty, they made application for their \ntenancy. The response to the first inquiries was not encouraging, as the\n shops were already promised to other parties. But the months went by \nand the premises remained empty.\n\u201cFinally British Rail wrote to all who had expressed interest in the \nshops and asked for tenders. The Christians involved in the earlier \napplication sent in a tender and there was loud rejoicing when they \nlearnt that British Rail had accepted it. April saw the beginning of \nintensive and enthusiastic activity. The shop was dilapidated; the back \nwindow had no glass and a broken frame and the skirting board had dry \nrot.\n\u201cThen old talents were displayed and new gifts came to the fore, \nespecially among the deacons. One decorated and painted the inside, an \nelectrician re-wired the shop, another carpenter obtained wood from an \nold school and a lecturer helped him in its painting and preparation. A \nfifth deacon designed the shelving, while a sixth painted the sign. At \nremarkably low cost the shop was transformed.
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\u201cOne of the church elders, who was a lecturer in the College of \nlibrarianship, took initial responsibility for the business side of \nordering books. Most Christian publishers proved helpful, especially the\n Banner of Truth Trust.\n\u201cThe shop was opened with a time of earnest prayer in Welsh and \nEnglish that for years to come it might serve the cause of God and truth\n in this important educational centre. The shop will be staffed by \nvolunteers from Alfred Place and from the Welsh Evangelical Church. The \nfirst morning an enthusiastic nun, lecturing in the University, called \nin to look around and bought a copy of Herbert Carson\u2019s \u2018Roman \nCatholicism\u2019.\u201d\nSo read the news account in Evangelical Times, July 1974.
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What are some of the essential ingredients of a Christian Book Shop? I suggest four:
- a suitable building
- sound books
- dedicated staff
- faithful customers\n <\/p>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/section>\n

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\n A SUITABLE BUILDING <\/span>\n
The\n location of the Western Parade lock-up shop was a good one: next to the\n railway station, with local and regional buses parking outside. One \n(and later two) display windows, kept lit at night, all in what started \nout as a row of 8 shops. The Book Shop\u2019s closest neighbour was a Poodle \nParlour, where small canines were groomed, and noises of barking could \nbe heard by the book browsers through a thin separating wall. That last \nfact was a blessing in disguise: sometime around 1979 the Poodle \nbusiness departed, and application was made to the Landlord for the Book\n Shop to expand, doubling the shop\u2019s size.\nThis application was successful, so once again hammering, decorating \nand installing shelving took place. It was discovered that there was \nalready a lintel in the connecting wall, and a previous way-through was \ndiscovered behind our bookshelves, and opened for use again.\n <\/p>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n

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Though numbers 3 and 4 Western Parade gave us a building for twenty \nyears, it had some unsuitable features: an ancient structure with damp \nwalls, a leaking roof, and plagued by coal-yard dust (especially when \nthe wind blew from the east). Building re-development of the old railway\n sidings and coal yard had been talked about for many years, and one by \none the shops closed with no further tenancies allowed. The unoccupied \nshops were boarded up, and in the early 1990s half of them were \ndemolished. The boardings attracted graffiti (and also some more \npleasurable murals), and we suffered a number of break-ins at night by \nyoungsters looking for money. We even had to call the police out on \nChristmas day in 1992 to investigate. By late 1991 just two shops \nremained open, ourselves and Griffiths y Glo (a coal merchant). For some\n years we had searched but found that alternative premises for rental \nwere very expensive and in short supply. The possibility of building a \nnew shop on land adjacent to the Alfred Place Baptist building itself \nwas not seriously considered, as on an earlier investigation we had been\n advised that this would be rejected. However, a new application was \nmade, and was successful in 1992. At a members meeting on 5th February \n1992 it was resolved to proceed with this new building project and to \nstart looking to Christian people for the necessary funds. In fact the \nfoundations were dug in March 1992.
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We expected the new shop to cost in the region of 25,000 Pounds, and as \n1992 was the centenary year of the death of Charles Haddon Spurgeon we \nobserved then that a mark of inflation was that the expected cost of the\n Book Shop was almost the same as Spurgeon\u2019s congregation had to raise \nto build the first Metropolitan Tabernacle, some 131 years before! In \nthe event, our shop costs have been in the region of 40,000 Pounds, but \nwith generous gifts and loans, plus the successful trading of the shop \nsince 1994, the monies will all be met by April 2000.\n <\/p>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n

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Even unbelievers have commented favourably on the design of the new \nshop, and the way the windows and perspective harmonise with the \nadjacent church (chapel) building, whose Victorian upright elegance has \ndominated the tiny street called \u2018Alfred Place\u2019 (the origin of the name \nis unknown) since the chapel\u2019s construction in 1870. Craftsman\u2019s use of \nwood is striking in an age of plastic, from the hardwood windows with \ntheir semi-circular tops to the internal shelves and cupboards. Our new \nlocation is adjacent to the town library at present, though that \nCarnegie building is frequently the subject of plans to re-locate. The \nmain shops in the town itself are now much closer, and the local \nEastgate shops are improving: the tourist information bureau is nearby, \nand summer visitors usually find us easily. The medium of reading this document, if you are doing so on the \nInternet, is itself surely a token of an impending trend away from \nbuildings to the electronic \u2018virtual Christian Book Shop\u2019 of the next \nmillenium: we hope to be part of that, though the very feel of the paper\n and binding of a sound Christian hardback will remain important and \nwill need the existence of physical buildings like ours for people to \nbrowse and choose.<\/p>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n

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\n SOUND BOOKS
\n <\/span>The\n important precursor of our shop was the bookstall in the vestibule of \nthe church, begun in the mid 1960\u2019s soon after the call of Geoff Thomas \nto be the Minister. A young student deacon was the catalyst and books \nwere obtained from one of the then about half-dozen Christian Book Shops\n around Wales run by the Evangelical Movement of Wales (they now run 8).\n The one still today in The Arcade in Wrexham supplied the books to us \nby means of a parcel delivery service using the Crossville country \nbuses. This continued in the 1970\u2019s with books supplied such as Truth Unchanged, Unchanging (Lloyd-Jones, five shillings); Welsh revival of 1904 (Eifion Evans, twelve shillings and six pence); and What\u2019s wrong with preaching today? (Al Martin, one shilling and six pence).\nOur convictions over sound books meant that those produced by the \nBanner of Truth Trust were top of our list, followed closely by the \ngrowing value of the Evangelical Press and many titles from Presbyterian\n and Reformed. In 1974 when the Book Shop started, British currency had \nchanged to Pounds and Pence, but prices sound strange in today\u2019s \nequivalents: Life in the Spirit, Lloyd-Jones 2.50 Pounds; God made them great, Tallach 1.25 Pounds; The reformed Pastor, Baxter 65 pence. The Banner title John Elias had just been published (at 2.10 Pounds) and Banner Magazines were 10 Pence each!\n <\/p>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/section>\n

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Over these last twenty-five years the number of publishers we stock has \nremained constant at around 60. The volume even of Evangelical books \npublished is staggering and selection for a small shop of no more than \n2,000 volumes exceedingly difficult. But taking the best, what riches \nare available over the centuries in such authors as Calvin, Bunyan, \nOwen, Whitefield, Berkhof, Ryle, Spurgeon, Pink, Lloyd-Jones, Henriksen,\n Murray (several!), and many many more. But add to these the helpful \nworks by John Blanchard, Faith Cook, Jerry Bridges, Stuart Olyott, Roger\n Ellsworth, Elisabeth Elliot and again many many more. Good children\u2019s \nbooks with Christian teaching and Biblical accuracy are especially \nimportant for children growing up in our contemporary society and we \nendeavour to stock titles that will help young readers some to faith in \nChrist and grow to love and serve Him throughout their lives. But the \nbest book to read is still the Bible: whether text, reference, study, \nlarge print, leather, zip, yap, thumb indexed, AV\/KJV, NKJV, NIV, or \nWilliam Morgan (in Welsh). \u201cLluserm yw dy air i\u2019m traed, a llewyrch i\u2019m llwybr\u201d (Salm 119:105) Thy word is a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path\u201d (Psalm 119:105<\/a>)\n <\/p>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n

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Do sound Book Shops lead to sound authors? In our case \u2018yes, they can indeed do so\u2019. I have a photo taken outside Western Parade in Spring 1975 showing a theological student doing a Saturday stint opening the shop. After faithful ministry in Belfast, preaching, writing and now theological lecturing in the USA, we always stock his most valuable books, six of which are available at present \u2013 we send our greetings to Derek Thomas, wish him and Rosemary God\u2019s blessing on all their works. Bryntirion Press (formerly Evangelical Press of Wales) has published Geoff\u2019s recent volume on Daniel, and also continues to make available some of the (all too few) sound books there are to stock in Welsh.<\/p>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/section>\n

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\n DEDICATED STAFF<\/span>\n <\/p>\n

The drive and enthusiasm of our young Pastor Geoff Thomas was responsible for the start of this work. The link to a sound gospel church with a dedicated membership and many regular attenders swelled in number by the students in the University and Colleges of Aberystwyth made a Christian shop possible even in a tiny town serving little more than a population of 12,000.<\/p>\n

The volunteers who started the work were soon joined by the Welsh language sister congregation, the Welsh Evangelical Church, and students such as Derek and Rosemary in the mid 1970\u2019s have had many dedicated successors. In fact we are now seeing the children of some of these students helping in our work, so one generation\u2019s faithfulness has lead to another.<\/p>\n

I remember the day Geoff and I drove on a return trip to London to purchase an initial stock of books from a wholesaler in Bromley, and also the trip a few months later with Eric Taylor to a supplier in Treorchy. In a typical year there are about 250 consignments of books, each to be selected, ordered, received, unpacked, checked, priced, shelved, arranged, displayed, and finally paid-for. In addition, there are the many customer requests to trace and obtain. And, as a small business, there are expenses and maintenance to cover, as well as annual accounts, these tasks are faithfully done in a corner of a room in someones home.<\/p>\n

Bud Mort, who is himself deaf and has the office of Pastor to the deaf (using sign-language), was an example of someone who was brought to reformed convictions by seeing and then buying and reading sound books from the Church bookstall before the shop began. His comments on the start of the Book Shop are:<\/p>\n

\u201cI had always longed and prayed for a Christian Book Shop for Aberystwyth, and the event of its opening was a culmination of prayer, faith, and \u2018make do and mend\u2019 because finance and resources were scarce. At that time I was helping to dismantle an old primary school in Llanon and noticed the wide floor boards were hardwood which would make good shelves. They did appear a little dirty, but possessing some carpentry skills, the \u2018Clerk of Works\u2019 (Mr Ron Loosley) said that with planing and sanding they would be like new. The \u2018Supervisor of refurbishing\u2019 (the late Aubrey Davies) said that \u201cthey would look better with a coat of paint\u201d, and the shelves were finally installed for use.<\/p>\n

\u201cI then joined the list of volunteers to staff the shop one morning and one afternoon per week. The location near the old station bus stop brought a lot of curious folk inside, some to shelter out of the rain while they waited for their bus. Requests varied from \u201cDo you sell party balloons with Bible verses on?\u201d to \u201cHave you books on the Bah\u2019ai faith?\u201d Then there was an elderly man who came in weekly from Lampeter, trying to persuade me that my teaching on original sin was \u201call wrong\u201d, and to accept \u201cuniversal redemption\u201d. Balmy days!\u201d<\/p>\n

Paid staffing was experimented-with on a part-time basis for several years during the 1977 to 1979 period, but turnover never generated enough income to continue this scheme. A student has been paid each summer for 6 weeks, and has given the regular staff an invaluable break then.<\/p>\n

How many people have been involved in running the shop? I wish we had kept records of this: just the last 5 years in the new building has involved 33 people I can readily remember, so over the 25 years it is likely to have totalled nearly 100. I wish we could thank them all. Some have gone to glory, of course: Harry Thomas, Geoff\u2019s father, used to go the bank for us regularly, and always had a cheerful word to say as he came into the shop and opened up the safe. Stephen Olyott, a church Deacon, was always most supportive, and helped in his area of work with our accounting and tax payments. Staffing has always attracted more women than men, but so many have freely given their time so often that the Book Shop has become a part of the lives of many of us.<\/p>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/section>\n

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\n THANKSGIVING TO GOD
\n <\/span>The four ingredients of a Book Shop project like ours are only \nsufficient if it is all done in total dependence on God, and trust in \nHis Son, Our Saviour, as we believe it has. When discussing the start of\n the shop in an early church meeting we said how important it was for \nthe shop to maintain its witness to Biblical Christianity, even if the \nchurch departed from it (and vice versa). Happily, neither has departed,\n and we aim to do everything in submission to Christ, His Gospel, and to\n the whole Word of God.\nWe have planned a Thanksgiving Service on Saturday May 8th 1999, as \nthe nearest convenient time to our opening date of Tuesday May 7th, \ntwenty-five years before. Geoff Thomas will preach in Alfred Place \nChurch, and afterwards there will be refreshments in the schoolroom and a\n display of photographs From Western Parade (1974-1994) to Alfred Place (1994-). We\n may even have on display our ancient wooden manual cash till with its \nwarning bell, now replaced by an electronic till at last! Michael Keen, 15 April 1999<\/span>\n <\/p>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n

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The dearth of good books and greetings cards in the secular shops of \nthe town has provided us with many regular customers: children, young \npeople, students, pensioners, men and women, friends from overseas. We \nsupply Sunday School materials and Bible reading aids to many in the \ntown and the surrounding country area. However, it may well be the shop \nstaff who buy the most!\nIn the summer, visiting Christians encourage us with their custom and\n often with their complimentary comments. The annual conferences of the \nEvangelical Movement of Wales are always held here, and to have almost \n2,000 people over the two conference weeks makes it our busiest and \nnicest time in the shop, especially when the main conference speaker is \nalso an author!\nFor several years we attempted an evangelistic bookstall at the local\n agricultural show, where our tent was in some contrast to the selling \nof tractors and the parading of Welsh Cob ponies and majestic shire \nhorses. But we have the majestic Saviour to parade before men, do we \nnot!\nNow that we can no longer find a suitable place to preach in the open\n at the annual November fair days in the town, a bookstall is taken \nthere, and has been well received and supported last year. At least one \ncustomer has discovered our shop and church by our presence on the \nInternet, though we still do not have a telephone in the shop. Use our \nwebsite to see the map of where we are if you are ever visiting us..<\/p>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/section>\n

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\n THE FAITHFULNESS OF GOD \/ COVID \/ THE WORD OF LIFE\n 
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\n STILL GOING!
\n <\/span>Michael\u2019s\n \u2018brief account\u2019 was almost 25 years ago as I write in early 2024. The \nshop continued its regular witness with Michael and Norma at the helm \nuntil the Covid regulations hit in 2020, when the shop, along with the \nchurch, and many other businesses in the town, had to close.\nSadly, Michael Keen died on 5th May 2021. He left a \nwonderful example, and legacy. He is missed. It was a privilege to have \nknown him. I do not have his gifts. I am merely continuing and following\n Michael\u2019s good example \u2013 especially in stocking quality reformed books.
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For a brief time, during Covid, there was a very limited service \noffered, but throughout this time, behind the scenes, all the various \nbills still had to be paid, until the shop was able to reopen, albeit in\n a limited way with the various restrictions required by the Welsh \ngovernment. Sandra had been working alongside Michael and Norma with the\n finances for many years, and simply continued faithfully working in the\n background, but took on the extra responsibility of making sure all the\n bills were paid. With Sandra, my wife, I was getting more and more \ninvolved in the shop until the obvious thing to do was, as a couple, \ntake the next step and offer to manage the shop. I jokingly say that all\n I do is buy books, and Sandra pays for them. But seriously, it\u2019s fair \nto say that without the vital work that continues in the background, the\n shop wouldn\u2019t be able to function \u2013 that is the work Sandra does. All I\n do is spend money.\n <\/p>\n

We were stepping into big shoes. Michael and Norma Keen had been \nmanaging the shop so well for over 40 years and as we began to \u2018get \nunder the bonnet\u2019 we realised in an experimental way what an amazing job\n they had been doing all that time. Other bookshop managers will tell \nyou that without \u2018doing it\u2019 it is almost impossible to understand. It\u2019s \nonly really by doing it that you fully begin to realise what\u2019s involved;\n and our esteem for Michael & Norma only increased.<\/p>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n

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Eventually the shop was able to \u2018almost\u2019 get back to \u2018normal\u2019 providing \nsocial distancing, masks, sanitiser, and a protective screen for staff \nand customer protection \u2013 all the while adhering to Welsh government \nguidelines. It was an awkward time for the shop and for customers. It\u2019s \ndifficult to tell, even now in 2024, if we are quite back to where we \nwere in 2019 before Covid. Sanitiser is still available for those that \nwant to use it. The screen is also still in place but that is not really\n a hindrance to the shop.
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The witness of the shop continues. Times have changed. Many people, \nChristians included, have changed their book buying habits which has \nimpacted not just us, but many Christian bookshops around the country. \nWe regularly hear of Christian bookshops closing so the impact and \nchange of habits is real. Covid has changed how people shop. Many more \nbuy their books online. The shop is no longer open Monday \u2013 Friday, and \nSaturday morning. The staff is smaller, and older, but still dedicated \nto serving the Lord in the provision of quality books, and a wide range \nof greeting cards, and of course, a good stock of Bibles. The main \nEnglish translations we have available are: AV, NKJV, NIV, NASB, & \nESV. We stock books from many publishers, but the main publishers would \nbe The Banner of Truth<\/a>, Christian Focus<\/a>, Evangelical Press, P & R Publishing, Reformation Heritage, Day One<\/a>, and several others.
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One big difference is that the bookshop misses out to a large extent at the EMW Aberystwyth Conference<\/a> as there is now a dedicated book-room managed by 10ofthose<\/a>.\n But there are still customers that like to come and browse in our \nlittle shop and buy and we are most grateful for their support. It is \nstill not a bad week for us, but not quite so good as it was.\n <\/p>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n

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Closing the shop because of Covid left things in a bit of disarray. \nAround this time, myself and Sandra, were appointed by the church to \nofficially take over the running of the shop. The official date for that\n was 21st June 2021, although by then we had effectively been\n doing it for a few months. Some things took longer than others, but the\n thinking was to get the shop running again. Then introduce the ability \nto take \u2018Card Payments\u2019, create a website (eventually), have a presence on Facebook, and maybe do a few tweaks and then hand the management over to someone else.\nThe someone else didn\u2019t materialise, but the more we got involved the\n more committed we became to its ministry: to do the best possible job \nwe could and to offer the best possible service we could to the town and\n the customers. Michael especially set a high bar as to the quality of \nbooks for sale. The bookshop is unashamedly reformed in its ethos, and \nso far continues to follow Michael\u2019s example.<\/p>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/section>\n

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At the moment we are open Tuesday \u2013 Friday (plus for the last two years, the few Saturdays leading up to Christmas). But we are still open!\n The shop, as most Christian bookshops, is not just about selling books,\n but is also about all the different people that come in for a chat, for\n fellowship, for directions, and for many other reasons. Some call in \nfor help. We try to be there for them. The bookshop is very much a \nministry, seeking where we can, to point them to the Lord Jesus. And, \nagain, following Michael & Norma\u2019s good example we give away a fair \nbit of evangelistic literature that is given out in town. The shop has \nalso gifted books to the town library. Supporting the shop then, \nsupports its ministry to the town and beyond.<\/p>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n \"\"\n

And so, on May 7th 2024 \u2018The Christian Bookshop\u2019 will have\n been ministering to the people of Aberystwyth and the surrounding area \nfor 50 years. In the scheme of things, we play a very small part in the \nplan of God. But we are here. And we believe, still here by the will of \nGod. It is not given to us to know the future of the shop, and \u2018someone\u2019\n still hasn\u2019t appeared, but in the meantime, with God\u2019s help we continue\n to \u2018Hold forth the Word of life\u2019 to a dark and needy world.\nThank you for reading. I\u2019m pleased to say that much of what Michael wrote 25 years ago is still true. We still have a \u2018suitable building.\u2019 We still stock a good selection of \u2018Sound Books.\u2019 We still have a \u2018dedicated staff\u2019. And we still have \u2018faithful customers.\u2019 Most of all we have a Saviour, The Lord Jesus Christ, who is the same yesterday, today, and forever.\u2019\nPlease pray for the shop ministry. While we are here, by God\u2019s grace,\n the shop continues its quiet witness to the people of Aberystwyth.\nSoli Deo Gloria.
\n Michael Iliff \u2013 May 2024.<\/span>\n <\/p>\n <\/div>\n <\/section>\n \n \n \n \n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Bookshop History 50 Years \u2013 Holding forth the Word of Life The following \u2018Brief History of The Christian Bookshop\u2019 was written by Michael Keen in 1999. After that there is a further account that takes us through Covid and brings us up to where we are now in 2024. I have kept Michael\u2019s account unaltered.A … Continue reading “Bookshop History”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":2,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-217","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/apbookshop.co.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/217","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/apbookshop.co.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/apbookshop.co.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/apbookshop.co.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/apbookshop.co.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=217"}],"version-history":[{"count":9,"href":"https:\/\/apbookshop.co.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/217\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":406,"href":"https:\/\/apbookshop.co.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/217\/revisions\/406"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/apbookshop.co.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=217"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}