Just a childish play on placenames.

The picture above is of a place on Wirral called Upton.  There are quite a few Uptons dotted around the country, but this is the only one to have a driving test centre. I was there today as it happens, and will be there again on Friday.

I used to think the "ton" bit of the name derived from "Town". There are many places nearby that have this suffix. Neston, Burton, Puddington, Upton, Bebington, New Brighton, Thurstaston etc.

But I've also heard an alternative explanation.

You see, the country used to be divided up into "hundreds", which were groups of around a hundred homes.

A slang word for "A hundred" is of course, a "Ton".

How true this explanation is I don't know, but when you spell it backwards, you get the word "Not".

So Upton spelled backwards is Not Pu.

See? I said it was just a childish play on placenames.

In the picture below, you can see part of the East End of London. The football stadium you can see is the home of West Ham United, and is called The Boleyn Ground.

It's also known as Upton Park, because it's situated close to a small park called Upton Park.

Upton Park spelled backwards is...

Krap Not Pu.

Just saying is all...