Tea Strainer

Just a random still life. Most of the oldies on here will recognise this kitchen essential from a thousand years ago. Loose tea, PG Tips or 
Ty-Phoo Tea was sold in tall ¼lb boxes. (113grams). It cost 1/9d in the 1960s. One shilling and nine pence in pre decimal currency. That's less than 10p now. 
Everyone used a tea pot to make tea. You had to warm the pot with a splash of boiling water, which you tipped out before adding one spoonful of tea for each person plus "One for the Pot". You added milk and sugar to the cups (with saucers) while the pot was brewing. When you poured the tea, you used a tea strainer to sieve the tea and keep the tea leaves from going into the cup. There were always some leaves that escaped this procedure. Some "Psychic" individuals claimed to be able to read your tea leaves in the bottom of your cup and foretell your future. 
It was all a bit of a palaver. 
I clearly remember our French teacher at school explaining to us that , in Europe, everyone used tea bags to make tea. They just put them into the cup and poured boiling water on them!  We were aghast! What a strange thing to do! How can that possibly work? Aren't Europeans funny?