Here we look at a selection of photos from the Oxford Mail archives from 1988.

That was the year when Bill Heine’s shark was still causing debate, two years after it was installed in a Headington rooftop.

And youngsters in Woodstock enjoyed a donkey derby.

The same year, customers were thrilled to be able to splurge in the winter sales after each winning £100 gift vouchers for B&Q.

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The DIY store launched the competition to mark the opening of its new store in Between Towns Road in Oxford.

Oxford Mail:

On each of the first 10 days of opening a £100 gift voucher was given to the person producing the best plan of the store.

Other prizes such as black and white portable TV sets were given to those who correctly guessed the weight of the Dulux Dog.

The Cowley store eventually closed in August, 2012 with the loss of 67 jobs.

At the end of the year there was a bizarre incident outside Debenhams.

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Army bomb disposal experts blew up a bag of mince pies, amid fears the package could contain a firebomb.

Oxford Mail:

The alarm was raised just after 1pm on December 3 when a bulging envelope was spotted on railings opposite the store.

A square object could be seen inside the package and grease had seeped through the paper.

Inspector John Simpson of Oxford police said: "We were not happy about it and called bomb disposal experts to deal with it."

Debenhams was closed off immediately and Magdalen Street was sealed off for two hours.

The bomb disposal team then used a robot device to make a controlled explosion of the package.

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This revealed it contained about half a dozen mince pies. A bag was also blown up in nearby Friars Entry, but Army experts discovered later it held only rubbish.

Department stores across the UK had been on alert that week after real firebombs were found at major stores in several cities.

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This story was written by Andy Ffrench, he joined the team more than 20 years ago and now covers community news across Oxfordshire.

Get in touch with him by emailing: Andy.ffrench@newsquest.co.uk

Follow him on Twitter @OxMailAndyF