APPROXIMATELY 17 members of Hamilton’s University of The Third Age (U3A) toured the Hamilton Spectator on Tuesday for one of their monthly excursions and gained some great insights into how the business operates.

It was an eye-opening experience as none of them had ever learnt about the history of the publication or got to see the office and the paper being printed.

Former secretary and current member of U3A, Margaret Langford, said the group enjoyed the tour and was very grateful for the opportunity.

“(We) absolutely loved it and surprisingly none of us had ever been there before … (considering) a lot of people have lived in Hamilton all their lives,” she said.

“I’ve had really positive feedback about it, very appreciative of what The Spectator and Greg Stevens did for us … it is fascinating to look at what goes on there.”

U3A is a group that is determined to keep learning despite being made up of senior citizens, and have groups for science, writing, books, languages and Greek dance.

Ms Langford said some of the upcoming events included a guest speaker from the Hamilton Police Station and an excursion to the Bendigo Art Gallery.

“We’re basically retired or semi-retired seniors who are mentally quite active - our motto is we don’t want our brains to retire,” she said.

“We participate in lots of different activities and have lots of groups … we have a general meeting on the second Tuesday of each month where we have a guest speaker.”

U3A membership is open to all retired or semi-retired people and offers affordable, lifelong learning opportunities for the older generation.

If you have any further questions or are interested in joining, you can visit the Hamilton Vic U3A website at hamiltonu3a.org.au