Engine getting hot

i will be driving my car all day and no over heating problems and all is well but soon as there is alittle traffic the engine will rise in temp. even just pulling up in the car park for 5 mins and the gauge will be at max. my question is how can i stop this, is it just in need of a oil and coolant change ? thanks for any help 

Firstly I would check that the rad fan is cutting in when the engine is getting warm, when the air isn't going through the rad as you go along. First thing I had to do when I got my cabby was change the radiator thermostat switch as had the same problem Cheers
Anna

Also worth checking both top and bottom hoses coming out of the radiator are hot.

yeah both hoses are hot!! and the fan isn't kicking in so what could be the problem with that ? and also

someone say to take the flexie hose off to get more cool are in, is this right, or should it stay there ? thanks for the help

The air hose should not run to the top of the radiator, it wont course the over heating problem but the car will be down on power as they run best on cold air, redirect the hose to the front of the car near the headlight.
With the fan not running there is a sensor on the right hand side of the radiator (when standing infront of the car looking at the engine) with a elecrical connection on it, unplug it and get a bit of wire to bridge the connection, the fan should run. If it runs its a faulty sensor if not its either a broken wire or the fan is broken.

If it is the rad thermo sensor that's gone, you can get these from VW, worth paying an extra few pounds for the genuine one as the GSF one I originally got didn't last long.
The wire test is a good one, taught to me by my dad over the telephone when broken down!!
Always keep a bit of wire in the car lol

that pipe is prob there due to the warm air feed failing, so leave it be till (if!) you fix it.

the warm air feed goes to the pipe on the bottom of the end of the airbox, it runs to a metal shroud around the exhaust manifold. if the shroud has fallen off you'll have to replace it, or just leave it as is. once the warm air feed is in place make sure the vac pipe from the back of the warm air flap vacuum unit is in place, it should run to the sensor in the side of the airbox. the other nipple has  a pipe that runs to the back of the carb.

finally make sure the warm air flap actually opens, if its bust you can open it manually to about 3/4 and thread a self tapping screw thru it to hold it there till you find a replacement flap assembly.

as for cooling problem:
http://www.vwgolfmk2.co.uk/viewtopic.php?f=37&t=14913