West Unveils Plaque for Parents' Canal Journeys
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- Samuel West unveiled a plaque at Braunston marina on the Grand Union Canal in memory of his parents Timothy West and Prunella Scales, both of whom died within the last two years.
- West opened this year's Historic Boat Rally, which featured about 90 of the last remaining working boats on England's canals.
- Great Canal Journeys first aired in 2014, debuting with a golden wedding anniversary trip on the Kennet and Avon Canal and running for 10 series total.
- West said his father believed the show was about industrial architecture, "but those of us who'd seen it knew it was a love story," and called the family support during his mother's dementia "enormously moving."
- The couple moored at Braunston for 20 years before their canal journeys ended there in 2019, and Samuel recalled a visit to Erith beam engines where well-wishers turned a 200-yard walk into a two-hour encounter.
- Prunella Scales offered a phrase her son remembered as her dementia took hold: "I don't always know where I'm going, but I always enjoy getting there."
Why it matters: The plaque at Braunston — where the couple moored for 20 years before their final 2019 trip — gives a 10-series TV phenomenon a permanent physical memorial after both its stars died within two years. The show's decade-long, unusually frank treatment of dementia helped reshape how British television handles aging on camera.
