And I should add that the weather record for Southend is probably the best for flying in the south-east of UK. The cloud from the west invariably takes much longer to get over that far east, leaving many 'doom forecast' days quite flyable for much longer.
The driest place in the UK used to be 2 miles east of the airport, not sure if this is still the case though.
Southend FC would be a good choice, there are three other clubs on the field also.