>>>>>In my opinion there is a little too much veneration of "tight" circuits. The justification for a tight circuit is allegedly to allow a glide approach to the runway in the event of engine failure in the circuit. The reality is that one is no more likely to suffer engine failure in the circuit than anywhere else, and yet we do not afford ouselves the luxury of a runway constantly nearby when travelling from A to B.<<<<
Not sure I'd agree with you totally here.
In the cruise we do have a bit of time to plan our landing spot, but flying behind a VW or an 0-200 on an icing day concentrates the mind a lot.
On bad days I have had the engine show signs of stopping almost the moment the power comes off for the descent, and the prop has stopped on finals before now - so I do keep my circuits tight and prepare for glide approaches