It's off to a good start. I am really thinking that is going to be quite a fun character, so I'm looking forward to seeing how he acts, and reacts.

Nice beginning. :) Although, at the end of the story, could you please define any British words for us poor Americans. It gets pretty confusing sometimes. XD

This is an interesting start, just one thing Essex is a county (state) and not a City, if you're looking for somewhere that isn't London, but still around the london area Brighton, Bristol or Bath (All B's!) are cities, however if you want the Essex region - because you mentioned about dialects and things and Essex and a particular accent - Chelmsford and Colchester are around there. Just a weird fact Colchester actually was the original capital on England. Weird isn't it?