First Fungi of 2022.

With some help from Lathyrus I can now say this is a Common Oyster Mushroom.  Pleurotus ostreatus.. 
this is a fungi which prefers cold weather and appears later in the season. It is probably not enjoying our present January high temperatures.
This is an edible species and is cultivated for sale in shops. It is apparently its texture rather than its taste which makes it popular.

Quite how it got to a footpath on the edge of the village is uncertain.