"I know that many festivals this year have struggled with slow ticket sales" means EXACTLY that Dave.

Whereas "I'm not suggesting that festivals struggled to improve on their sales" means something completely different.

The first is to do with ticket sales leading up to the event. The second is to do with eventual ticket sales. Improved sales could be done at the last minute. For example, a festival might sell only 50% of its total tickets with 4 weeks to go and historically this might have been 70%. But on the actual day of the festival they might sell out as they always do. Therefore ticket sales were sluggish but with the same outcome.

I think that Cambridge and Glastonbury can cope with a little opinionated twat like me don't you Dave? In fact I'm sure they can cope with any opinionated twat! They can probably cope cope with supercilious types too.

Cambridge to me is not a folk festival in name only. It may not be your idea of a folk festival but it is to me. So please tell me which genre you would place the following acts under.....

k.d. lang - JOAN ARMATRADING - LEVELLERS - THE IMAGINED VILLAGE
BILLY BRAGG - JOHN HIATT - JUDY COLLINS - ALLEN TOUSSAINT
SETH LAKEMAN - ERIC BIBB - ELIZA CARTHY - MARTHA WAINWRIGHT
THE WAIFS - ALTAN - PEATBOG FAERIES - TIM O'BRIEN - KARINE POLWART
MICHAEL McGOLDRICK BAND - LAURA MARLING - BASSEKOU KOUYATE & NGONI BA - TUNNG
KÍLA - DEVON SPROULE - CHRIS WOOD - CHERRYHOLMES - BRIAN McNEILL
MAUVAIS SORT - LISA KNAPP - HOT 8 BRASS BAND - BEOGA - GRUPO FANTASMA
FRANK TURNER - WHAPWEASEL - ROSS AINSLIE & JARLATH HENDERSON - ELIZABETH COOK
THE CHAIR - 3 DAFT MONKEYS - NOAH & THE WHALE - JEANA LESLIE & SIOBHAN MILLER - 6 DAY RIOT
KIDSAMONIUM - FINDLAY NAPIER & THE BAR ROOM MOUNTAINEERS - MEGSON - THE SHIVERS

Looks pretty damned folkie to me Dave! Perhaps you should listen to some of it!