Coffee. Black, unadulterated. Warms the white mug. Warms my fingers, palms, lips. First sip: heat, then that winnowing curl, threads of taste — thin sunshine, dark earth, the rasp edges of dusk ...

A coffee cup and saucer produced for the ill-fated RMS Titanic has sold at a West Midlands auction for £6,000 - five times its estimated sale price.