COMMON A person or organization's time in the wilderness is a period when they do not have an important role to play and people are not interested in them. He is delighted to get another chance to represent his country after a period in the wilderness. After 10 years in the political wilderness the Danish Labour Party appeared yesterday to be on the verge of returning to power.

If you describe someone as a voice crying in the wilderness or a lone voice in the wilderness, you mean that they are telling people about the dangers in an important situation or the truth about it, but nobody is paying any attention. Until recently, Dr Seddon's was a voice crying in the wilderness. But people are starting to listen to what he has to say. For years, he was a lone voice in the wilderness, and a lot of it came across as self-serving. But I'll tell you, the man was right. Note: This is from the Bible, and refers to John the Baptist who preached the coming of the Messiah but was often ignored. (Matthew 3:3)