FNG,
No, the Spit was there on the day but this was something much smaller. I don't know about aero types but it was a biplane I think.
I think circuit size is according to what one's been trained to do. In the PPL, they teach you to do things by the book, so you fly a "proper" rectangular circuit, at circuit height, and descend from cct height say halfway through the base leg (or not until turning final, at night, in some places). I went from a PPL through self fly hire of various junk to becoming an owner of a complex plane which is normally operated by the numbers, and never had a chance to mess about with tight circuits.
Perhaps if I had done some aerobatics then my outlook would be different, but I believe that currency ON TYPE is the #1 safety factor, and if I did say 30 hours of aeros in some aero type and then tried to do the same in what I now have (which isn't meant to be chucked about like that anyway) I don't think it would have done me much of a service. But it probably illustrates why some people fly much tighter circuits than others.
Also at an unfamiliar airfield, where you know there is traffic but can't see a lot of it, it is better to fly a larger circuit because it gives you more time to look around. If you have to avoid somebody when you are already banking at 30 degrees onto final, 10-15kt above the stall, you don't have many options!
I think having to do a G/A because somebody has cut you up on final is irritating but the resulting straightforward G/A is a lot safer than some other possibilities, e.g. you turning base in a tight left hand circuit and then you spot somebody (head-on) doing the same thing but with a right hand circuit (yes, I've seen it).