"Mum, we won! Football won!" shouts a small girl perched on her dad's shoulders. A few hundred people chuckle.
Football crowds can be very different in the age of the Lionesses. As thousands swarmed The Mall to watch an open top bus containing the fresh-from-victory England women's football team, it was notable that many of the onlookers were young girls and boys.
Already at Victoria station, the football chants had been ringing out — not from the usual loutish suspects, but a group of hyped up six-years-old. It must be strange for the parents — some sporting Euro '96 era tops — to have never seen an England team win in their lifetime, and then suddenly it's happening all the time. Their kids might get used to this.
Celebrants kitted out with mini England flags sold from handcarts, and homemade "I Love Beth Mead" placards, the scene was set, with a stage parked outside the front of Buckingham Palace. Even the Victoria Memorial seemed amused as three cuddly lions danced to 'Titanium'. But there was a problem: while the Lionesses have given a roaring voice to women's football, the sound setup was dud throughout most of the proceedings — the occasional sally of 'TURN IT UP!' falling on deaf ears.
It didn't dampen spirits a jot — in fact the only boos came when a replay of England Vs France was screened, the French slotting away two goals in what was to be England's only loss of their incredible Euros campaign — though not the last time they'd go two goals behind.
As the bus finally edged up The Mall — containing a team which should collectively be awarded BBC Sports Personalities of the Year this Christmas — the wall of screeching made you think. So THAT'S what victory sounds like — bloody deafening.
On stage, Lionesses captain Leah Williams and manager Sarina Wiegman picked up the mic to address the sea of fans, only to find the sound was still on the fritz. Mind you, it would hardly be an England appearance without some kind of drama. The only clear three words came from Chloe Kelly: "So fucking special" — not the most family-friendly greeting given the pre-watershed crowd, but then Kelly is a rock star after all, so we'll allow it.
One thing everyone will have heard was the chorus of Sweet Caroline wafting across central London; an unlikely anthem that might as well now be the national one. King Charles should have nipped out onto the balcony and declared just as much. In two years' time we'll be back on The Mall singing it even louder. This whole winning thing is quite addictive, isn't it.
