Hiya
It's great that you want to meetup with people and 'usually' there are plenty of meets and gatherings organised - I've even been along to a few!
Realistically, and I stick my neck out slightly for saying this, there's many people who are tightening their belts and crossing out uncessary spend at the moment. A 'few' meetups perhaps over a 4-8 week period to attend will cost X amount and I 'suspect' some potential meet goer's are cutting that out and using those funds to pay for more basic essentials - all of which are rising in price/costs. Add in the fact everyone's freezing, travel is currently a joke in the UK, people are gearing up for the circus that is called Christmas, you can sort of see why perhaps meetups are a little thin on the ground!
that 'gloomier' side of things aside, I think you'll find enthusiasm isn't dampened to want to get a meet or gathering going, but I think there are a few members from UKY who do arrange them every so often. Have a look in the meets section for anything being organised in or around the London area, and I'm sure there'll be something somewhere!
Worst comes to the worst, get down to the Sports Cafe on some Baseball/Gridiron game night - I'm sure you'll find some people from across the pond there

Cheers, DtM! West London & Slough UK!