For starters, Listowel's council chambers look remarkably like those of Los Gatos. Councilwoman Barbara should feel right at home there. And a Listowel hotel interior looks very like the interior of the Toll House Hotel. Even the geography of each town is similar, as Ira indicates with a sketch of Listowel's layout: a waterway runs through it and a park is on the outskirts.

Its park is a year-round soccer field, plus gardens that depict the different garden styles of different countries with the centerpiece plot dedicated to a remembrance of the Holocaust. The water is a river, as opposed to a creek. And both towns lie 20 minutes from the coast.

Another similarity is that each is chockablock with writers: Listowel hosts a yearly writer's conference. Los Gatos Library Director Peggy Conaway attended in June, where she showed part of the film A Glimpse of Los Gatos Now and Then, produced by LG filmmakers Valerie Archer and John Wainwright. (That film won a Spirit of Los Gatos award at the 2005 CineCats showcase.)

Thus, the towns echo each other, not only in geography and tourist attractions, but also in their philosophy, the Spectors point out. The parallels between the towns' foundations are a harder sell--at least for me. Listowel has a 13th-century (or earlier) castle, newly renovated and newly open to the public.

So impregnable was the castle considered that it took but 14 archers to defend it against ravaging hordes of invaders. Forbes Mill just doesn't seem up to the task of being a corollary. Somehow the old mill doesn't have quite the cachet of a medieval castle, even one that has been deteriorating for centuries.

Whether your list of similarities will emerge as lengthy as Ira's or not, the travelers would urge you to visit Listowel on your next trip abroad. You'll be treated as an honored guest.

The Spectors dined with the mayor and town manager and Jimmy Deenihan came to call. Deenihan is a member of the Irish legislature and initiated the Listowel-Los Gatos connection. He's also a man of boundless energy. About the time the Spectors were ready to retire for the night, Deenihan urged them to come do the town with him. So it was off to Keane's Pub. Think Hannegan's as the counterpart.

INNOVATIVE SERVICE: Ventriloquist Carol Greene is up to her old voice-throwing tricks but at a new venue: she took her wooden but ever-articulate helpers to the LG Methodist Church, where she conducted the entire 9 a.m. service--the introit, Kids' Spirit, prayer, anthem, sermon, benediction.

Greene composed all the music the puppets sang. Donna Swanson accompanied on pipe organ and piano. Assisting puppets were Katie Lynn, Reginald Rabbit and Ayana Ryoko Cortez. Last month Greene and Reginald performed at the Vent Haven Ventriloquist Convention in Kentucky for 450 ventriloquists from all over the world.

The Los Gatan and her crew may next perform in a horror film: she'll be cast as a leader of patients in a mental ward who talk only to puppets.

WORLD NEWS IMPACT: In a more serious vein at United Methodist Church, Trudy Burling directs a class there in conjunction with Nancy Offer, Chuck and Shirley Schmidt and Dave Wolf. The class is titled How Our Faith Informs Our Lives.

It meets after regular church services twice a month from 10:30 a.m. to noon.

MURAL HONOREES: "Remembering the Mural: Wildcat Reunion" will be at LGHS Aug. 7, 3-5 p.m., in Room 501. That's the same room where two of the art teachers to be honored that day taught for many years.

The event will honor Bob and Judy Lozano, Ted Simonson and Scott Downs, plus the elementary school district, for preserving the WPA mural and other artifacts in the exhibition now at the history museum, "The Art of the New Deal in Los Gatos."

GO FIGURE: There are precious few shows which focus on depicting the human form, especially through the eyes of different artists, says George Rivera, director of the Triton Art Museum. But such a show is currently at the Art Museum of Los Gatos.

Artists showing are Tonya Carpenter, Ron Garcia, Bob Gerbracht, Deborah Matlack, Katherine Levin-Lau, Karen Glatz, Stephanie Metz, Barbara Pease, George Rivera, Kristin Lindseth Rivera, Claire Schroeven Verbiest and Pat Sherwood.

"This group of artists is doing incredible figurative work," says Catherine Politopoulos, curator of the show. "And the timing feels fateful to have all this talent in one place at the same time." A reception will be on Aug. 7, 1-4 p.m., at the Tait Avenue museum. The show runs until Oct. 1.

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