Chunder! The last time I heard that word was at our medical school talent show, must have been 1974, and Dr. Jeff Maisels (who, it should be noted, is a Kiwi) sang a song whose chorus ended with "And we'll chunder in the old Pacific sea!" There was also a line like, "Crack another tube of beer and prawns with me"...do you know the song I'm talking about, Robin? (If you imagine drinking lots and lots of beer on board a rolling boat--or even on shore--you might figure out what "chunder" means!)

Yes, openmike, Cyril Tawney wrote "The Grey Funnel Line", referring to the Royal Navy, whose ships, like the US Navy's, are painted grey (well, the US Navy's are painted gray, but who's counting?), including the funnels. The title is a nod to the Black Ball Line and other shipping companies made famous in earlier songs. No doubt after the clipper ships gave way to steam there was a Red Funnel Line, etc. (By way of demystification, if needed, a ship's funnels are what the uninitiated would probably call smokestacks.)

Aloha,
Mark