Hi Whoppity,
It was back in 1985 that you didn't need a licence to fly microlights - so more than a few years!
If you have a JAR or old Group A, which one will if a light aircraft instructor, then it is an aeroplane as defined by the ICAO rules. So you can fly microlights on your ICAO compliant licence.
If you have an NPPL then it is a microlight, because the NPPL is a CAA licence and the CAA have a definition of a microlight, and so you can't fly it with an SSEA NPPL unless you do what is prescribed (see NPPL website).
Yes, you'll have fun of one kind if you learn to fly a weighshift microlight - just as a merchant ship captain would with a dinghy with a tiller!
You'll also have fun on a modern three-axis like the Ikarus because of the massive power-to-weight ratio.
very best wishes