Boneman,
"Err...you need to practice a distress call because???"
What "Twilight Zone" are you in?
Even a total ignoramus like me has by now figured out from reading this thread, that in the UK a PAN call on 121.5 will get you a position fix within seconds, IF you make the correct call, and IF you can handle the reply in real time, something you don't learn from books.
So rather than flying into a stuffed hill while trying to figure out the procedure, you practice.
Not to mention (too many before me have done so) that the controllers also appreciate practicing, and prefer having somebody coming on the frequency already knowing what she/he is doing..... rather than commenting the football scores.
But then I expect you're the sort of person who doesn't know where you spare tyre is in your car.