That's not awful Sue. That's what I was fixing to do.
How do you do it? Seriously. If not on the stove, where then?
Should this Yank stick to tea bags after all? I really don't know if they even sell loose tea leaves over here. 
Tea leaves are sure to be available there somewhere, David. Try a specialist coffee and tea emporium. Once you've had tea leaves, you'll never use tea bags again. All I can taste when I use tea bags is wet paper!
Here's my technique for brewing a pot of tea:
1. Boil water in electric jug or kettle or however else you would normally boil water for your coffee.
2. Once the water is boiled, pour a generous slurp into the teapot and swill it around, to warm the teapot.
3. Empty the warming water out of the teapot.
4. While the teapot is still warm, add tea leaves to taste, depending on whether you like your tea weak or strong. I like quite strong tea so normally add two tablespoons to a 4-cup teapot. As Sue said, it is traditional to add one teaspoon of tea per person, plus an extra teaspoon "for the pot," which is probably about the same as my two tablespoons.
5. Put lid on teapot and allow the tea to brew for approximately 3-5 minutes (Twinings recommendation).
6. Using a tea strainer, pour the tea into a tea cup, leaving enough room for milk and sugar if required. Black tea without sugar is often served with a thin half-slice (not wedge) of lemon.
7. Milk and sugar (if required) should always be added
after the tea has been poured. It must never be placed in the tea cup before the tea is poured.
Enjoy!
