Jemma Walton talked to some dedicated Trekkies about Klingons, (Dr) Spock and a charity banquet they are holding this weekend.

Earing fake pointy ears that you've hand-crafted from latex is not the kind of thing that most of us get up to on a regular basis.

But then, the Federation/ Klingon Rapid Response Fleet is no normal group – they are a group of people passionately, sincerely and deeply dedicated to all things Star Trek, and have the Trekkie memorabilia, costumes and latex ear extensions to prove it.

Read also: Frank loves to make Klingon kit
Jemma Walton talked to dedicated Trekkie Frank Rockley about Klingons.
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Charlotte Kebbell, AKA Kehaln, is married to James Kebbell, an admiral within the gang's fleet. The couple met and fell in love when Charlotte bought a Trekkie picture from the stall he used to have on Peterborough Market.

They got chatting, and Star Trek fan James ignited Charlotte's love for the series. She said: "I am a microbiologist, and so I have always been interested in sci-fi, which is all about the science of the future, really. "

She has now organised a charity event for Starship Enterprise fans across the country to raise money for Macmillan Cancer Support, after losing her dad to cancer last year when he was just 57.

"I realised cancer touches the lives of so many people and wanted to do something to help Macmillan, who do a fantastic job," she said.

"Star Trek fans are the kindest, most generous people in the world," added Duncan Richards, a member of the group, better known to some as Stanick.

"If you are ever trying to raise money for a good cause, all you need to do is ask them if they will help, and you can rest assured that they'd do their very best to help you, collect money in the street or whatever.

"Mixing socially with people who like Star Trek is a good way of meeting like-minded people, people who are a bit different."

The Federation/ Klingon Rapid Response Team has got about 48 members, with eight in Peterborough, and the rest hailing from as far afield as California, Canada and Las Vegas.

As well as chatting online, the locally-based members meet up for events, like the banquet, to be held in Milton Keynes this weekend.

Lots of people would imagine Trekkies to spend lots of time debating the ins and outs of what happened in one particular episode, but Charlotte (35), of West Pinchbeck, near Spalding, insisted there was much more to the group than that.

Being a member of their group involves complicated skips and leaps of the imagination, not to say a flair for presentation and an eye for detail, as most of the group love nothing more than designing and making their own Star Trekky costumes.

"We could sit around watching Eastenders or something in our spare time," she said. "But that's boring. I am a very creative person, I love writing, and making things, and that is partly what attracts me to this.

"You need imagination and creativity to be able to make the costumes, and to join in with the roleplaying and things that we host on our website."

Those of us unbitten by the Star Trek bug might wonder what all the fuss is about, and we might even think the federation's interests are a little bit, dare we say it, weird.