Hi m8 welcome to the club
Im sure your gonna love the car, as for being in Essex there are loads of us on the site.
The meetings and events have started so I doubt there will be an Essex meet for a while.
As for the next big event you've got
Rotorstock end of May
Jap Show mid June
Japanese Performance Sunday early July
JAE July 24/25, see this site for full details.
Enjoy the car and I'm sure I will see you flying around
Kev