Listening out on guard as legally required can be a complete pain in the ears, yes people off freq etc is what its for and of course those in distress. The "practise pan" bit I don`t buy as 121.5 is the actual emergency freq not a practise freq (is there a training 911 or 999 tel no) Trundling into Europe at 400 with lots of freq changes and zeroing in on a 121.5 only to hear its a "practise" is a bother. 121.5 was always and still is an EMERGENCY freq and should be treated with respect. Shouting you are on guard also does not help. If the lad has called his ops etc 3 or 4 times a polite you are on 121.5 will suffice.